


Armored Angel

by illus0ry



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Trigger warnings listed per chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:07:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 25,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24548140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/illus0ry/pseuds/illus0ry
Summary: To many of the hermits Xisuma was more than just an admin or a friend. He was their guardian angel. Someone they owed their life to.
Comments: 171
Kudos: 647





	1. Prologue: Armored Angel

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are very appreciated! Hope you enjoy!

The boy’s frame shivered violently with each breath. Soot covered his visor. He’s huddled back into a corner, limbs folded close to himself protectively. The sight nearly broke Generik’s heart. 

“Hey.” He tried to keep his voice calm and gentle, the boy startled nonetheless. “You’re alright now. I won’t hurt you.” 

He didn’t get a response. At a loss, the older man looked for details that might help him make some progress. He swallowed a lump that formed in his throat. There was a small metallic plate fastened to the front of the dark green chest-plate. It’s dented and caked in dirt like the rest of the shaking form sat before him. 

“Xi- Xisu...?” He stutters, struggling to make out the letters. Finally he puts it together. ” _ Xisuma?” _

This time, he gets a reaction.

“Xisuma? Is that your name?” The helmeted head nods quickly. Generik’s expression softens. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Xisuma. My name is GenerikB but my friends call me Genny.” The boy’s breathing was starting to even out. “I’m here to help you, alright?” 

Another nod. 

Generik offers his hand. Hesitantly, the boy’s own gloved hand takes hold. The older man grips on, standing from his crouched position and pulling up with as much strength as he can muster. 

Surprisingly, the boy isn’t really all that small. He only seemed that way tucked away in the corner. He was nearly as tall as Genny, possibly even stronger- though that could be an illusion of the armor. He isn’t heavy by any means, Generik is able to support him with ease as he gets his balance together. 

Taking one last look at the crumbling surroundings, another wince of sadness plucks as his heart. The Deep End wasn’t safe enough for the pair to stay much longer. Generik decides he should bring the boy back to HermitCraft- introduce him to the others he'd given a place to call home. 

“Why don’t you come home with me? I’ll help clean you up and get you some food. Does that sound okay?”

Xisuma nods one more time. 

* * *

Xisuma has been living here for a few weeks now. He scraped all of the dirt from the joints of his armor, scrubbed at his visor till he could see his own broken reflection in it. He still feels disgusting- even after scrubbing his skin raw and nearly pulling his hair out trying to remove the sweat and oil built up in it. 

Generik visits him every day. Dropping off food and droning on about what the other Hermits were getting up to. Sometimes he’d teach Xisuma about the world’s coding and talk about his admin duties. The stability was comforting. 

Slowly he started to join in more. His voice was still rough, carrying little emotion behind words. Despite this, he made friends. Keralis was one of the first to worm their way into Xisuma’s life. The man’s excitement was contagious. Xisuma even found himself smiling beneath his helmet on occasion. He was touchy and lacked a filter, but the brunet didn’t mind. He could count on Keralis being there at the drop of a hat. Being there to rub calming circles on his back at 3am after a nightmare wakes him. Run his fingers through Xisuma’s hair as his head rests in Keralis’ lap, waiting for the boy to fall asleep again before drifting off himself. Keralis even gave him a nickname; Shaswammy. He isn’t entirely sure where it came from, but he loves it anyway. 

* * *

Sadly, that stability didn’t last forever. It wasn't long after Xisuma arrived that people began to leave. Even Generik left in the end. He’d approached Xisuma, entrusting the world and the remaining Hermits to him, handing over his admin abilities. Xisuma felt utterly lost for the first time in a while. 

Keralis placed a hand on Xisuma’s shoulder and squeezed. 

“I won’t leave you, Shashwammy.” He reassures. 

Xisuma could only hope he was telling the truth. 


	2. Chapter One: Royal Guard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for blood and death but it's very brief.

Generik sighed. 

He’d seen another trio pack their things today. He knew he shouldn’t ask why. He was their crutch to lean on- he supposes he should be happy they don’t need that crutch anymore. They’d healed- found peace. That didn’t make watching them leave hurt any less. Some didn’t even say goodbye. 

“Genny?” 

The hesitant voice pulls Generik out of his head. Xisuma is sitting across the table, fiddling with the fingertips of his gloves. Even through the tinted visor the older man could see the concern in X’s eyes. 

“Sorry- I just…” Another sigh falls from between his lips. “They were just ready to move on, understand?”

Xisuma nodded, but he didn’t understand. After everything Generik did for them- taking them under his wing, giving them a family. They just  _ left?  _ Not a word of goodbye from some. It made Xisuma…  _ angry.  _

Generik stands, walking past X on his way out. He places a hand on the younger man’s shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze despite the armor. 

“Everything will be alright, son.”

Xisuma wants to believe him.

* * *

They collectively decided on a fresh start.

Not long after Generik went on his way. Seeing the abandoned homes and unfinished projects got everyone down. It all served as nothing more than daily reminders of the  friends family they lost. 

Putting the final preparations for a world transfer together, Xisuma was reminded of a promise. One that he made to himself as he watched Generik vanish. He wanted to do for others what Genny had done for him- give the lost and abandoned a fresh start. Provide them the same stability that kept him sane. 

He kept an eye out, monitoring activity in the neighboring worlds. The powers of an admin never failed to amaze Xisuma. 

He took notes. Focusing on players that caught his attention. A few stuck out to him. Xisuma thought about paying them a visit. 

* * *

Everyone felt like a weight had been lifted from their shoulders. Another fresh start. As everyone made slow progress, some noticed Xisuma was nowhere to be seen. Keralis was especially concerned. Xisuma wouldn’t abandon him, right?

There was, however, a fresh face in the crowd. An old friend of Generik’s, he’d explained. He had the same caring warmth as the old man they’d all grown to love. His stories took everyone's mind off of their missing admin, even if it was only temporarily. 

The remaining Hermits gathered around a fire. They felt at peace again.

* * *

Xisuma, meanwhile, didn’t. 

His back was pressed against a marble pillar. The only sound he made was his breath as if filtered through his helmet. He had an iron grip on the sword at his side- knuckles aching from the strain. 

Door hinges creaked, X’s breath hitched. Peering out from behind the looming structure, he caught sight of just the person he was looking for. 

FalseSymmetry: royal-guard-to-be. She looked utterly miserable in the company of a castle guard. The pair walked the hall in silence, none the wiser to the intruder mere feet away. 

He ducked back behind cover, allowing them to pass. 

Here goes nothing.

* * *

False sighed. Her hands were covered in calluses, arms littered with bruises and small cuts. She ached all over. Despite this, training continued. Everyday, like clockwork, a guard would escort the blonde from her living quarters to the courtyard. 

She walked down the corridor with a limp. Her mind wandered, moving on muscle memory alone. There was a quiet rustling somewhere behind them, she paid it no attention. Her ‘companion’ did. 

He froze, hand poised on the hilt of his sword, arm extended to stop False’s progress. It was probably nothing she decided- the guard gasps. She looks over, follows his downcast gaze. A blood stained blade protruded from the center of his abdomen. False’s jaw dropped but no sound escaped. The blade was retracted and the wet suctioning cut through the silence. The guard dropped. 

Turning back, False clasped a hand over her mouth to stop from screaming. A man, nearly a foot or more taller than even the guard, was standing. He was armored, face obstructed almost entirely save for the dark outline of his eyes. He was silent, staring down at the crumbled guard. 

“Halt!” The man’s attention snapped around to the pair of guards stationed next to the door.

“Take my hand.” He said finally, hand extended out for False to take. She hesitated. What if he killed her too? The guards were getting closer, swords drawn.

“ _ Take it. _ ” He just about hissed. False did just that. 

The pair vanished, purple particles left in their place. 

* * *

Her eyes opened slowly, head throbbing. With blurry vision, she looked around. This isn’t the kingdom. Sitting upright, head swimming as a result, False stifled panic. A clattering followed by a muffled cuss drew her attention over. 

The man from earlier kneeled over a chest, rummaging through its contents. 

“Who are you?” She demanded. 

He turned to face her, expression still hidden. 

“ _ You’re awake- _ ” The chest's lid clips shut. “I’m Xisuma. You’re FalseSymmetry, right?”

She nods. How did he know her name? His steps were ominously quiet as he approached. Xisuma held out a bottle, bright pink liquid sloshed inside. 

“It’s a health potion.” He explains. She doesn’t take it. He sighs.

“You’re a Voidwalker.” There’s no other explanation. The only other beings who can teleport like that are Endermen. This statement catches Xisuma off guard.

“I am.” He whispers, picking at the cork on the potion bottle. “But that’s not important.”

She could almost laugh.

He sits the bottle on the table next to the bed. 

Voidwalkers are a thing of legend. Not much about them is known for certain. As a kid False was taught they’re a hybrid- a splice of human and ender. Appearing non threatening but holding all the power of those that stalk the night. Two things are known for sure: They aren’t supposed to exist in the Overworld and they don’t have free will. This one breaks both of those rules. 

False would keep an eye on him. She picks up the bottle. 


	3. Chapter Two: Redstoner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for implied panic attacks but nothing is actually written or detailed.

“I don’t know what to do, Joe.” Generik groaned, face in his hands as his elbows rested on the tabletop. 

“Keep doing what you have been.” Joe says, taking a sip of coffee. “It’s been working so far, right?”

“But- but he’s a  _ Voidwalker _ .” He says the name like it hurt him somehow. 

“Do you not  _ want  _ him here?” Joe inquires. 

The older man doesn’t answer. Joe sits his mug down, leaning forward in his seat.

“Let me put it this way- If you had known he was a Voidwalker when you found him, would you have left him behind?”

“ _ I don’t know. _ ” 

“...Oh.” For once, Joe was at a loss for words. “What exactly is it you’re worried about? Do you think he’s going to hurt someone?” 

“No! No…” Generik’s face morphs into a grimace. “I’m just worried that I can’t actually help him.” 

“What makes you think that?” Joe was leaning further forward in his seat, coffee long forgotten. The older man shakes his head.

“Something’s different about this. Jess and Biffa- they lived that way out of necessity. It wasn’t hard to bring them back around after I got them away from their home worlds. They weren’t always hitmen.” Generik took in a shaky breath. “Xisuma doesn’t know any different. If I  _ somehow  _ manage to take the soldier part of him away there’ll be nothing left.”

“But you already know there’s more to him than that.” Generik finally looks up at Joe, his eyes telling him to continue. “You’re the one that said you’d never have guessed he was a Voidwalker if I hadn’t said something.”

“I guess you’re right.” He mumbles. “I would have expected a ‘Walker to put up a little more of a fight. He just looked so  _ scared _ .” 

“That should be enough to prove to you there’s more to him than just a mindless drone.” Joe’s expression was relaxed.

The older man glanced at the clock above the doorway. It was already past noon. He meant to stop by X’s hours ago. Generik felt a pang of guilt. 

“I should get going.” He sighs. “Thanks for talking with me.”

Joe gives a curt nod. “Not a problem, old friend.” 

By the time Generik arrived, a bowl of warm stew in one hand, his guilt had only multiplied. 

He pushed the door open, glancing around. X wasn’t sitting at the table like usual.

“Xisuma? You home?”

“Shh- he’s asleep.” A familiar voice whispers a few moments later.

Looking to the source, he spots Keralis. He sat crisscrossed on the bed, back against the wall. Xisuma’s head is in his lap, face nuzzled against Keralis’ stomach. Keralis had one hand resting in Xisuma’s hair, fingertips scratching lightly at his scalp.

“Is he okay? What happened?” He keeps his voice low, sitting the bowl on the table. 

Keralis nods, looking down at Xisuma’s relaxed expression with a tender look in his eyes. “It was nothing I couldn’t handle.” 

Generik hesitates before speaking, “Would you like me to stay?” 

“That’s up to you.” Keralis’ unnaturally large eyes look up at Generik. “It is getting kind of late. I can tell him you stopped by, if you would like.” 

He should have been here sooner. If he just hadn’t had doubts-. He pushes that thought away. 

“Yes, please.” He takes in the scene one more time. “You both can help yourself to the stew I left on the table.” 

“Thank you.” Keralis replies, gently slipping his other hand out of Xisuma’s grip in favor of cupping the side of the sleeping man’s face. 

With that, Generik goes on his way. 

\---

False was settling in well. She didn’t seem as wary of Xisuma as upon first arriving. As far as he knew, she also hadn’t mentioned him being a Voidwalker to anyone else. Common sense told X that everyone probably knew that already. He couldn’t shake the fear that his origin is what caused so many to leave their previous world. Xisuma couldn’t handle that happening again. It was an irrational thought- surely. 

The admin didn’t stay long. Just enough to get a small home built and catch up to the progress of the other hermits. There were so many places he needed to travel to, so many new people to find. 

His next target was a young man. He lived in a magic dominated world, a rare occurrence as far as Xisuma has researched. Despite having access to an oddity such as magic, he preferred science. He’d picked up redstone with ease. To most this would sound like a good thing. That must be a valuable skill to possess in a world such as that, right? Sadly, that was far from the truth. He was called a traitor. His home community didn’t hesitate to cast him out, even at his age. Xisuma thought he would be a perfect addition to their patchwork quilt of a family.

\--

His surroundings were dark aside from the moonlight filtering through the canopy and the occasional twinkle of a firefly. Mumbo sat with his knees hugged up to his chest. Normally he enjoyed the peace the forest provided. Leaves rustling in tune with crickets chirping. The songs of birds early in the morning. All of this felt different now. He used to come here to think for a few hours before returning home. Now, the wet grass and towering trees were his home. It was a strange thought that a community would shun one of their own for simply deviating from the norm. It’s not like redstone was dangerous, at least not anymore than magic could be. 

Leaves crunched nearby. Mumbo’s heart began to race. 

_ “Probably just a deer.”  _ He rationalizes.

There’s another set of crunches and the  _ ‘snap!’  _ of a twig breaking. 

“Is someone there?” Mumbo calls.

Silence.

“I said-  _ is someone there? _ ”

“Don’t panic.” Someone steps into a patch of moonlight. Mumbo nearly faints. 

“What do you want?” He sits upright, trying to look more threatening. It doesn’t work nearly as well as he thinks it does. 

“I’m here to help you. You’re Mumbo, aren’t you?” They take a few steps closer, crouching down more to Mumbo’s level. “The redstoner?” 

How does this guy know that? Mumbo has never seen anyone like this around before. 

“Yeah that’s me. What’s it mean to you?” 

The stranger’s head droops, looking down at the ground. His shoulders move ever so slightly as he chuckles.

“What’s so funny?” Mumbo says exasperated. 

“My name is Xisuma-” He looks back up, extending a hand towards Mumbo, “-I’m the admin of a world called HermitCraft. I learned of your situation and came here so I could invite you to join us.” 

Mumbo’s expression was filled with pure confusion. 

“How do I know you aren’t trying to kill me or something?” He tries to back up further, the tree stops him. 

“If I wanted you dead I wouldn’t have taken the time to introduce myself.”

“That does make sense.” Mumbo murmurs. 

“So, what do you say?” Xisuma says, voice filled with hope. 

The younger of the pair takes a moment, staring at X’s outstretched hand like it might bite him. Finally he looks up to meet Xisuma’s gaze through the visor. 

“I guess I don’t have much to lose.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> visit me on tumblr! @illusory0


	4. Chapter Three: Days of Yore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little different. It focuses on backstory for the most part but still has a little bit of the 'present'.  
> Edit: TW mild descriptions of panic attacks. Sorry I forgot this!

Keralis’ stomach felt like it was being twisted up into a knot. X messaged him not long ago. It was barely coherent- almost like half of it was in another language. 

Despite how early in the morning it was, Keralis was out of bed and pulling on his boots in a heartbeat. He damn near sprinted through the Nether, cursing the portals for being so slow. 

Finally popping out on the other side, the village Xisuma settled in came into view. Keralis knew the village like it was his own base- maybe even better. He ignored the groaning from zombies ambling nearby. They can be dealt with later. He has to make sure Xisuma is okay first. 

He nearly trips going up the stairs and doesn’t even bother knocking. His unnaturally large eyes swept the inside of the house frantically. No sign of Xisuma.

“Shashwammy?” He calls, sounding out of breath. “Where are you?”

He messaged Keralis on a whim and now he felt stupid. Xisuma should be able to deal with this himself. It’s not fair to wake Keralis. He hasn’t replied in the ten minutes since the message was sent. Despite how badly X wanted to see him Xisuma was almost relieved, thinking that maybe he hadn’t woken Keralis after all.

He sat nestled into the corner where a bookcase and wall met. His bed was across the room and X wasn’t entirely certain he’d make it that far. 

The door creaked open on the opposite side of the shelf. He recognizes Keralis’ voice but can’t begin to understand what he’s saying. There’s a momentary pang of guilt in his chest but it’s pushed aside by relief before it can fully take hold. 

Gently he taps on the wooden case hoping it’s enough to get his friend’s attention. Thankfully it seems to have worked. 

Keralis came into view, large eyes filled to the brim with concern. He crouches down, careful to give X some space. 

“Are you okay?” He keeps his voice low and even. 

X shakes is head.

“What happened, Shashwammy?” Xisuma shifted as the older male looked him up and down, worry still chiseled into his expression.

“It’s dumb.” He managed to whisper. 

“I’m sure it’s not.” 

“N-no, it is.” He sniffles. “ ‘M sorry you came all the way over here.” 

Keralis’ brings his hands up, moving slowly to watch for a reaction. He pauses with the palms of his hands ghosting just above the metal of Xisuma’s helmet.

“Can I take this off?” He waits for the nod before making contact and carefully removing it, setting it down gently nearby. 

He must look a mess judging by the way Keralis’ worry lines deepen. 

“Oh Shashwammy, please will you tell me what happened?” A calloused hand comes up to cup his cheek, thumb wiping away a tear as it spills over. Xisuma feels his face heat up. 

“You know how mob spawning has been broken recently?” Keralis nods. “Well- I wanted to walk around the village and find the dark areas to light them up more. I doubt it would fix anything since it’s a glitch but I wanted to try, y’know?” Xisuma stops his rambles, trying to get back on track. “Anyway, while I was going around I- there was-” He swallows a ball of nerves that formed in his throat. “- _ It’s so stupid.  _ I’m so-” 

Keralis pulls Xisuma forward into a hug, putting one hand on the back of X’s head and the other splayed out on against his upper back. 

“Take a breather, c’mon.” He draws in an exaggerated breath, encouraging X to do the same. He does, eventually. “What happened?” 

“There was an Enderman.” He says, the words muffled again’s Keralis’ shirt. 

“An Enderman?” 

“I didn’t know they were in the Overworld.” 

Keralis… didn’t quite understand. He has no knowledge of Xisuma’s life before Generik brought him to HermitCraft. He’d heard the rumors of X being a Voidwalker. That must have something to do with it. He rubs calming circles against the armor plate. 

“Can I take you over to the bed?” X nods against his chest. 

Keralis picks Xisuma up bridal-style, cradling him like he was a child and not a six foot, 170 pound, armor covered adult. It would have been rather comical in another situation. 

Being mindful not to jostle Xisuma or bump into anything along the way, Keralis lays him down on the perfectly made bed. Propping him up just long enough to slip through, Keralis settles on the bed as well, crossing his legs so X’s head has a place to rest. 

“Is this okay?” Keralis brushes the hair out of X’s eyes before tangling his fingers in the dark locks, scratching at his scalp. Xisuma melts into his touch. Keralis takes that as a yes. 

After sitting in silence for some time, Xisuma’s bloodshot eyes slip shut. His breathing had previously evened out. At some point, X intertwined his fingers with Keralis’ as the older male’s hand rested on the younger’s stomach. 

Keralis tried his best to stay awake, wanting to be ready if Xisuma awoke suddenly. Try as he did, he succumbed to the pull of sleep as well. 

“Xisuma? You home?” 

Keralis cracks his eyes open. Sunlight was filtering in through the windows. How long was he out? He looks down, X is still sound asleep. 

“Shh- he’s asleep.” 

Generik looks at the pair, a guilty expression drawn all over his face. 

Keralis assures Generik of Xisuma’s safety. The admin seems hesitant to believe him. Eventually, seemingly satisfied with the answers given, he goes on his way. 

Gaze shifting to the sleeping figure in his lap once more, Keralis sighs. He knows better than to ask about someone’s past outright. For most of the Hermits, it’s a sore subject. Keralis wished he could bring himself to break the unspoken rule, just this once. 

* * *

Mumbo made quick friends with the other hermits- Biffa especially. The young man was fascinated by the cyborg and the implications of redstone prosthetics capable of receptivity- whatever that means. It still warmed Xisuma’s heart to see the pair interact despite not understanding a word of the technical jargon. Perhaps Mumbo could teach him a thing or two. 

Slowly the group dispersed. Moving out from spawn to find their own space in the world. Xisuma wasn’t in any hurry. He had other things to worry about at the moment. He flicked through the list of highlighted players he’d been keeping an eye on. His list shrank fairly quickly- now only three names remained. These would certainly prove to be more difficult. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> visit me on tumblr! @illusory0


	5. Chapter Four: Undead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The update schedule will be changing to every-other day! Not because I'm losing motivation but because I want to make sure every chapter is as good as it can be.   
> Tried out another chapter set up today ;)  
> TW: Descriptions of blood, vomit, wounds, temporary character death, body horror.

~~ Generik’s ~~ Xisuma’s communicator began buzzing wildly at just past midnight. He scrambled to pick it up, struggling to free himself from the tangle of sheets just enough to reach out. The blinding light from the device makes him flinch. 

_ LOW HEALTH - TARGET ID: 2 _

He’d set up those notifications only a day prior, letting him know if any of the people he had been keeping an eye on were in danger. He was thankful he did. 

Xisuma kicks the bedding away as he reads the rest of the warning. His stomach flips upon seeing just how low the vitals are. He needs to hurry.

In his frantic state Xisuma nearly forgot his helmet. He only noticed this as he opened the admin command panels - realizing the burning in his chest wasn’t from adrenaline but rather the air of the Overworld wreaking havoc on his respiratory system. Normally the air here doesn’t bother Xisuma that badly, only when he tries to breathe it too quickly, too deeply. His short panic earlier would certainly cause both of those. 

Not even bothering to make sure it was sealed in place properly, Xisuma types in the command.

_ Xisuma left the world. _

* * *

Her arm felt like it was on fire. Realizing there was no way for her to stop the bleeding herself, Cleo didn’t even bother trying. What’s the point in prolonging her death? 

Vision starting to swim, Cleo shut her eyes. She couldn’t hear the zombie that did this anymore. Maybe she caused enough damage for it to die off after a few minutes. She felt pathetic just laying here. 

_ Vwoop! _

Oh great. As if being mauled by a zombie wasn’t bad enough. Now an Enderman has shown up to finish her off? She didn’t have the energy to even begin trying to fight it off. Much to her surprise, rather than feeling claws dig into her flesh, she felt a pair of hand claps onto her arm. The pressure on the bite wound made her cringe. Though that didn’t last long. Strangely this pain faded, changing into a warm tingling. 

Her joints began to ache. 

“Cleo?” 

“Hm?” She hums, not coherent enough to question where the voice came from. 

Nausea built up in her stomach, quickly escalating to the taste of stomach acid in her throat. She gags. The same pair of hands turn her to the side, careful not to jostle any unseen wounds. 

Curling inward, her stomach convulses, pushing out a vile mix of blood and half digested food. She cracks her eyes open, relishing in the momentary lack of nausea. 

She catches sight of a dark leather boot mere inches from her face. Dark red bile dripped down the side of it. 

Beads of sweat build on her forehead as a chill travels down her spine. A set of fingers press to her throat. Her heartbeat is weak against the pressure. 

An arm slips under her knees, another behind her neck. She leans against the coolness of whatever surface she’s resting against. It feels heavenly against her burning skin.

She exhales one last time.

* * *

Cleo is surprised to wake up in a bed. The soft woolen sheets are a welcomed change from the scratchiness of grass. 

She groans. All of her limbs are heavy and tense. Her stomach feels bloated. Gathering what little energy she can find, Cleo lifts her arm into view. 

Her skin is green.

She screams. 

Moments later the door to the room slams open. 

She sits up, adrenaline taking over. Looking across the rest of her exposed skin Cleo feels like she might faint. Jagged grey scars where open wounds once were, a patchy green hue took over her previously light complexion. She looks up with tear filled eyes.

She doesn’t recognize the man standing next to the bed. She can see a subtle shaking in his hands, obviously taken off guard by her sudden outburst. 

“Who are you? What did you do to me?” Hearing her own voice is almost startling. It’s hoarse, gravely. 

“I don’t know what happened-” He began. “It might be from joining a world with respawn after dying in a place with permadeath-” 

“What do you mean a world with respawn?” She cuts him off. His jaw snaps shut with an audible click.

“If you die here you’ll come back.” He says as if it isn’t entirely mad. “You just wake up in bed after a little while.”

She laughs hysterically till her ribs start to cramp. 

“If you don’t tell me what really happened  _ right now  _ I’ll-” 

“Woah! No need to get graphic!” He presses the palms of his hands over the microphones in the sides of his helmet. The action sends a soft static through the speakers inside.

He avoided her withering glare. She looked as if she were barely holding back the urge to strangle him. Her stance was threatening even in a seated position. 

“Now I- I don’t  _ entirely  _ understand how respawning works, I’ll be honest with you. It was a strange concept for me too. You died during the transition between worlds. That mixed with the  _ way  _ you died is the only explanation I can come up with.” 

She doesn’t say anything. The silence makes him uncomfortable.

“I’ve been looking through your code- trying to fix whatever caused this but… there’s nothing wrong? Everything is  _ normal  _ and I don’t understand why.” 

Finally, he can see her guard drop. 

“I have a few more questions.” She sighs. 

“Ask away.”

‘A few more’ turned out to be about a dozen. Xisuma answered them as best as he could. When she was satisfied with the answers given Xisuma excused himself. He was in the middle of setting up a room to house his admin equipment when Cleo screamed. Generik warned him of how important it was to keep admin work and regular life separate. Up until now Xisuma ignored that sentiment. 

He plucked the admin communicator from his inventory, it was different from X’s normal one. It was heavier, more durable, passcode protected, and had access to the command panel. Xisuma turned it over in his hands, running the pad of his gloved thumb over the crudely engraved ‘GB’ on the back. Part of him wanted to scratch the letters away. It was nothing more than a taunting reminder. Generik’s voice still rang fresh in the back of his mind:  _ “Everything will be alright, son.” _

Xisuma never should have believed him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> check me out on tumblr! @illusory0  
> also I apologize in advance for the next chapter.


	6. Chapter Five: Jell-O Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Non-graphic mention of injury, blood, off-screen death/murder.  
> I'm really proud of the first section. I hope you all like it as much as I do :).

“We’re leaving.” 

“What?” A hand gripped firmly onto Xisuma’s arm, another rested on his back keeping him upright.

“I said-  _ we’re leaving. _ ” His companion’s rough voice was difficult to understand at such a low level. 

“But  _ why _ ?” 

“Wh- why? What do you mean why?” 

“Ecks, I don’t understand.” He looked up to the set of red LED eyes. The red-armored male scoffs. 

“You might be drilled out of your mind but I can still see through the bullshit.” Xisuma didn’t resist being guided out of the bed. “I’m getting you out of here.”

“What if I don’t want to leave?” 

“Then it’s just more proof that you need to.” Ecks’ voice was stern. Far from the joking seriousness it usually possesses. 

“I- We can’t leave, Ecks. They didn’t say we could.” 

“For Void’s sake, Xisuma! Do you not hear yourself?” X flinches at the sudden outburst. “Sorry just- get your helmet.” 

When Xisuma doesn’t move, Ecks grabs it for him- pushing it down over his messy hair and activating the airseal. 

“We can’t.” He whispers, eyes focused beyond the walls of the room. 

“Xisuma, please.” Ecks’ voice cracks. He takes hold of the younger man’s wrist. 

“How did you get in here?” 

“They were daft enough to teach me how to teleport.” He peaks around the corner, keeping his grip firm so as to not allow X to slip out. “Wish they taught me how to teleport more than one person. That would make this a lot easier.”

The pair share a moment of silence. 

“Why are you doing this?” 

“A man of a million question tonight, are we?” Ecks sighs. “You have a good heart, Xisuma. You’re meant for more than this. You don’t deserve to die as a pawn.”

“What about Aph?” 

Ecks chuckles. “There’s no hope left for that monster. I’m surprised you lasted longer than he did.” 

This time the silence remains unbroken.

Xisuma had no idea where Ecks was leading him. The compound was a maze. They nearly ran into a few blue-armors along the way. That would have been the end for both of them. 

“The sparring ground?” 

“Shh- there’s a roof access ladder out here. C’mon.” 

Xisuma does what he’d told, following Ecks like a lost puppy. As much as his entire body is twitching to turn around he knows that isn’t an option. He might get a lash on the wrist for complying this long. But Ecks? He doesn’t want to think about what might happen to him for trying to leave and drag Xisuma with him. 

Once on the top of the building Xisuma can look out over the barren landscape of the Deep End. It’s almost… unsettling. 

They walk lightly, their footsteps almost certainly able to be heard in the rooms below. Getting to the edge, Ecks slips off the side with little thought. The hydraulics in the armor’s joints cushion the fall. Xisuma follows by example, Ecks steadies him when his landing doesn’t go quite as smoothly. 

This was almost  _ too _ easy.

Xisuma was walking ahead, allowing him to make the pace. They’d been going for nearly an hour. Right now they were passing through the ruins of an End City. It was destroyed by a Voidwalker unit not that long ago. Dust coated armor pieces were strewn about. It sent a shiver down Ecks’ spine knowing that it could have just as easily been Xisuma or himself. 

There’s a faint sound of rubble crunching beneath their boots. Though, Ecks could swear he heard a third set of steps. He never caught sight of anything as he looked around for the source. Just when he was about to leave it alone, a large clawed hand clamps down over his helmet. 

An Enderman. 

“Xisuma, run!” It’s all Ecks could think to shout. He tugs uselessly at the bony fingers as the claws dig into the metal.

Xisuma turns his head. His eyes grow wide behind the tinted visor. 

“Ecks-” 

Before Xisuma can continue the gangly beast disappears in a puff of purple particles, taking Ecks with it. 

Xisuma takes off. 

* * *

Xisuma jolts awake, gasping for breath in the dark room. He fumbled for the helmet sitting on the table next to the bed. He struggles to orient it in the darkness, having to try a few times before getting it right. Activating the seal, X takes in a deep breath of filtered air. 

The admin thinks about messaging Keralis. He nearly does. But when Xisuma sees the time displayed in the corner of the communicator the idea flees. 

“You can deal with this- you can  _ deal with this _ .” He repeats to himself. 

There’s no chance he’ll get back to sleep tonight. 

He blinks, trying to get rid of the bleariness. The bright light hitting his eyes is painful. He’d checked Cleo’s code again and again, still finding nothing. 

Every time he blinks the memory of Ecks vanishing plays. It makes him feel sick. He shouldn’t have run like that, he should have done something to help. 

He groans in frustration, resting his head in his hands. Why did Ecks have to be so stubborn? 

The admin communicator dings. 

_ DISTRESS DETECTED - TARGET ID: 4 _

A distraction. Just what Xisuma needs. 

* * *

If Jevin could cry, he’d be doing it right about now. He laid on his side, curled up on the floor of the small cell. He cradled his hand to his chest, keeping it protected from further harm. 

There’s a loud thump outside the cell door. Are they back already? It’s only been a few minutes-

Hinges creak, Jevin wants to scream. He cracks his eyes open but doesn’t see the usual guard. Rather, he finds a figure dressed in deep green armour that’s dripping with blood. Somehow that’s even worse.

“Don’t hurt me.” He begs. “Please don’t hurt me.”

The figure doesn’t respond. They only move closer, droplets of blood falling to the floor. They crouch down. Jevin can just about see their eyes behind the visor.

“I can get you out of here.” 

Jevin doesn’t believe him. 

“Take my hand and I can get you out.”

He shakes his head. 

“Please?” The armored man pleads, extending his hand out further. 

Against any better judgement, Jevin takes it. 

The sentient slime’s hand felt strange. It felt cold through the fabric. The texture felt as though Xisuma could tear it apart just by squeezing too hard. He didn’t want to test the theory nor did he have the time to. He got rid of all the guards on the way here but there were no doubt more on the way. 

If he couldn’t teleport into the facility he certainly won’t be able to warp out. He’s not sure how they’ve found a way to jam  _ magic  _ (Seriously, he can’t even use his admin controls.)  __ but questioning it won’t change anything. As long as he can get them both out the method doesn’t matter. 

Xisuma’s hand heats up, though it’s likely unnoticeable through his glove. He can see Jevin’s face shift ever so slightly into something resembling a grimace. Slowly all of the tension in his body relaxed, the hand in Xisuma’s grasp went limp. At least his healing still works. 

Xisuma hoists up the now unconscious man and drapes him over his shoulder. It’s hard to get a solid hold but he manages. 

He steps over a motionless body in the doorway, kicking the weapon out of reach just in case the guy decides to come back to life- Xisuma isn’t going to rule anything out. 

“Let’s find the way out of here.” 

That was easy enough. He only ran into one guard along the way, they didn’t give him any trouble. Now that he’s out of the compound, Xisuma can safely warp Jevin and himself back to HermitCraft. 

He adjusts his hold so he can type out the command. It’s difficult with only one free hand. When he hits enter, everything goes dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ecks is Ex I just felt weird calling him that given they aren't brothers/clones in this. Aph is apathetic but the same goes as with Ex.


	7. Chapter Six: Living Rooms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is almost 2k words long. I got a little carried away :).  
> TW: emotional manipulation and implied past emotional abuse.

Xisuma’s first few hours in the Overworld were hell. Everything was too bright, too loud. He was beyond over-stimulated. The transition from expanses of creme colored stone and the empty black void to fields of green grass and blinding sunlight was more than he could handle. 

The experience could have been much worse, the visor on his helmet holding off some of the barrage. 

He couldn’t say the same for the sound filters. The first time he heard a sheep bleat Xisuma nearly fainted. 

How do people live here? How do they deal with sound beyond static and muffled talking? Doesn’t all of the color hurt their eyes? And the smell- don’t get him started on the smells this place has to offer. He felt the need to lock himself away in a dark room for a few days. 

Generik had to just about beg him to take the helmet off  _ (“You can’t bathe in a full set of armor, son-.”) _ . Xisuma only agreed to do it if Generik dimmed the lights. The older man caved after a while. 

Before removing it, he tapped at a few of the controls on the side. The armor’s surface shifted, loosening up so it could be more easily taken off. Generik took the helmet out of Xisuma’s hands and placed it on the sink ledge. His skin tingles on contact with the world’s air. He easily rubs the feeling away. 

“Do you need any help?” 

X shakes his head. 

“Alright, I’ll leave you to it. Just let me know if you need anything.” 

“Hm.” He hums in affirmation

Generik exits the room, looking back over his shoulder before pulling the door shut.

Hot water feels… strange. Xisuma spent a fair amount of time standing motionless in the steady stream. He watched cloudy water spiral down the drain. He’s used to getting nothing more than a shallow bowl of freezing liquid, just enough to watch the sweat off of his face and scrape the crud from under his fingernails. This felt just heavenly. 

After a while Generik knocked on the door to ask if he was okay. Xisuma took this as a queue that he’d been in there too long. 

Wiping away the excess water with a bright white wool towel he realized there was just one problem. All of his underclothing was still dirty.

“Generik?” He calls out. 

“Everything okay?” A reply comes a few moments later.

“I don’t have anything to put back on.” 

He hears a soft chuckle, “Give me a few minutes.”

Xisuma sat in the living quarters of Generik’s base. He’d been given a set of clothing very kindly donated by another hermit. A soft blue t-shirt and a pair of black sweats. Both were a little too small for Xisuma. 

He was using a small square of wool to wipe away the dirt from his helmet. His eyes had adjusted for the most part but he still had to squint at times. It took a bit of work but eventually Xisuma deemed it clean enough. He slipped it on, a sigh of relief slipping through his lips. 

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. 

* * *

It took some convincing to get Jevin out of the room Xisuma settled him in the night before. The slime was afraid of every movement and attempt at contact. Xisuma knew that feeling all too well. He knew to give reassurance but back off if it didn’t work the first few times. Perhaps one of the other hermits would have better luck. 

For the time being Xisuma had one more person he wanted to visit. It was actually Hypno who suggested this addition and gave him the information. 

xB, an old friend of Hypno’s. They’d been quite close before he left for HermitCraft. For whatever reason, Generik hadn’t allowed xB to come with them. 

According to Hypno, xB’s home life wasn’t  _ awful  _ but there were certainly ways it could be improved. Xisuma figured the least he could do was ask the boy if he’d like to join them. It couldn’t hurt. 

The admin popped into the world. It was nothing like the places he’d visited before. It was by every definition average. Xisuma would stick out like a sore thumb among the residents, but that just meant not many people would get in his way. 

Following the coordinates Hypno provided, X ended up in front of a white house. It was nestled at the end of the street. The plants were overgrown and the mailbox was broken. 

Xisuma walked up to the door, careful to not disturb the dog napping next to the stairs. He knocked firmly on the front door. He could hear someone moving around inside and eventually the door was pulled open. 

“What- oh  _ fuck.”  _ The door slams in his face. 

“Well that was rude.” Xisuma mumbles. 

He knocks again.

The door opens again but not as far, only enough for the homeowner to peak out.

“I don’t know  _ what  _ you are or why you’re here but I’m only going to ask you to leave once.” As hard as they tried to sound threatening, Xisuma could still hear the waver in the man’s voice. 

“I’m here to see your son, xB. Is he home?” The admin tried to sound as harmless as possible. 

“Why do you want to see him?”

“Just to talk for a few minutes.” 

“How do I know you won’t kill us if I open the door?” 

“I could remove this door very easily if I wanted to.” That sounded more like more of a threat than he wanted it to. “I’m here on peaceful terms, I promise you.” 

The door clicks shut again. Xisuma was about ready to just turn and leave, to try again later.

“xB!” He hears the man shout. “There’s some guy here to talk to you!”

“Okay, dad!”

The door reopens. 

“You can come in.” The man mumbles. 

“Thank you.” Xisuma says, his reassuring smile is hidden away by his helmet. 

Stepping inside he can finally get a better look around. It was rather dreary. The only light came from the windows and a lantern on the coffee table. A patch of drywall near the stairwell was a different color, like it had been patched. 

Xisuma could hear footsteps descending the stairs. A few moments later a teenager comes into view. He has a full beard despite otherwise appearing quite young. He wore a tattered grey hoodie that had teal detailing with a white t-shirt underneath and plain bluejeans. 

“Who is it-” xB gasps, slapping a hand over his mouth. “Whatever I did, I’m sorry.” 

Xisuma chuckles, hoping to cut the tension. “You didn’t do anything. I just wanted to talk with you for a few minutes, if that’s alright.” 

“Uh… I guess?” He replies sheepishly. 

“Lead the way.” Xisuma says, stepping aside so xB can get around him.

xB sits down on a worn couch, his father sitting down next to him. Xisuma places himself across the table in a matching club chair. 

“My name is Xisuma, apologies for not introducing myself sooner.” He begins. “I’m an admin from a neighboring world. I came at the request of your friend, Hypno.”

“Hypno? Is he okay?” xB’s eyes lit up.

“Yes, perfectly fine.” 

“Why did he ‘request’ you come see me?”

“As I said, I’m the admin of a neighboring world. I’ve been working to grow our little community in recent weeks. He suggested I look into having you join us.”

“Hold on-” xB’s father sat upright in his seat. “You think you can just  _ take  _ my son with you?”

“No.” Xisuma replies. “It’s his decision.” 

“I don’t know if I’m comfortable with continuing this discussion.” 

“But dad-”

“No- how do I know if you’re actually safe for him to be around? Can you honestly expect me to trust my son’s safety to someone who waltzed up to our home in a- a  _ mech suit _ ?” Xisuma remains silent through the man’s outburst. 

“I understand your concern, sir- but I don’t mean your son any harm.” 

“Dad- if he knows Hypno, then I trust him. Plus I’m almost 18. I was going to be moving out soon anyway.”

The older man sighs, defeated.

“What if he doesn’t like it with you?”

“He’s welcome to return home at any time.” 

He doesn’t say anything further, only looking to his son in wait of a response. 

“Can I go? Just for a few days- to see what it’s like? I’ll make a final decision then. Is that okay?” 

“I suppose.” xB grins. “But you have to come back to tell me what you decide. I don’t want to just get a  _ letter  _ or something.”

xB glances over at Xisuma who nods. xB lights up again, giving his father a strong hug.

“Thank you!” 

“Yeah, yeah. Just wait till your mother gets home before you go anywhere?”

“But-”

“I know- but she deserves at least that much.”

“Okay.” xB all but whispers. 

Xisuma waits a moment before returning to the conversation. 

“Would you like me to come back later?” 

“No, you’re welcome to stay. I do have a few more things to ask you.”

“Of course!” 

* * *

The woman screeched when she opened the door. 

“Oh my god! What is that thing! Get it  _ out  _ of here!” She threw her purse at Xisuma, it hit his armor with a sad  _ thunk  _ and fell to the floor.

“He’s okay, mom! He came here to see me!” xB cut in, stepping in front of the admin. 

_ “Did it hurt you?”  _ She hisses.

“No! God no! He just wanted to talk about an… uh- an opportunity. And I’ve already agreed!”

_ “An opportunity?” _

“Yes. And you can’t change my mind. I’m going with him.”

“Ha! That’s  _ hilarious. _ You’re not going anywhere, especially not with that thing.” 

“Mom, I’m almost 18. I can do what I want.”

“No, you can’t. I’m your mother, you do what  _ I  _ want.”

“Honey, let the boy make his own decision.” His father pipes up. 

“You can’t be serious. You’re on  _ his  _ side?  _ Pathetic. _ ” 

“Xisuma.” xB states. “Let’s go.” 

“If you try to leave with my son-” She was reaching for something on the entryway table. Xisuma steps forward, directing xB to stand behind him. 

“Ma’am.” 

“Don’t  _ ma’am  _ me, you  _ freak. _ ” She hisses. 

X glances back at xB’s father as if asking what to do next. 

“Just go. I’ll be fine.” He says solemnly. 

Xisuma, holds a hand out behind him and waits to feel xB take hold of it. The moment he feels contact, he warps them both out. 


	8. Chapter Seven: Goodbye Is Not Forever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: None! It's just a lil sad.

The first time Xisuma realized he was getting better was at the server meeting to introduce xB. Biffa made an offhand remark and Xisuma had laughed at it. A genuine one. Not just a weak chuckle or a confused chortle. The rest of the room went silent, all eyes moving to their admin. A few moments passed before X realized the attention was on him. The corner of his eyes were crinkled, the only indicator that he was grinning beneath the helmet, but he was still evidently confused.

“What?” He asked, his amusement audible even in his words.

“Oh- nothing.” Keralis answered, the corners of his own lips twitching upward. 

The meeting continued.

Since then, the relationships between the group of Hermits had only grown stronger. Any tension that may have been present was gone. Pairings and groups began to form rather quickly after everyone settled down. Some of them were surprising to Xisuma. 

Joe and Cleo were a mismatched duo upon first impression but their dynamics became evident. Cleo brought out Joe’s more mischievous side but still kept him in line. Cleo’s empty threats directed at the poet became a regular in the chat in reply to Joe’s nonsense. It was strangely heartwarming. 

xB had made the decision to stay with the hermits after not even a full day. Xisuma brought the teen back to his hold world just long enough to relay the news to his family. As hard as his mother tried to convince him not to, xB was firm. His father was more understanding, making the brunet swear to visit often. He’d even thanked Xisuma for helping xB. It was a striking difference from their first meeting but it was reassuring.

He reconnected with Hypno and the pair picked up right where they left off. It was almost like they had never been separated. Picking fun at each other and pulling pranks. They acted like children around one another, much to the other hermits’ amusement. 

Almost everyone else lived up to the group’s namesake- keeping to themselves.Even Xisuma found himself enjoying the peace and quiet of seclusion more and more as the days passed. A year ago he couldn’t stand to be alone for more than a day. He still spoke to Keralis regularly and checked in on everyone now and then but he found peace in having a space to call his own. 

To the other Hermits, Xisuma's base was quite odd. But to him it was a soothing callback to the Deep End. He considered HermitCraft home, there was no doubt in his mind, but he still preferred the expanse of dull greys surrounding his base to the rolling green hills.

But, as Xisuma expected, this serenity didn’t last forever. People began to grow bored. There were only so many farms to build and pranks to pull. Just like last time, they voted on a reset. They’d all miss the homes they build here and all of the hard work they put in but it was for the best. 

What Xisuma didn’t anticipate was Jess deciding to leave. He made the announcement at the meeting that decided on the reset. This didn’t sit right with X. He wasn’t angry at Jess for leaving- it’s not like he could force the ex assassin to stay. Rather, the admin was cross with himself. He felt like it was his fault, like he’d done something to drive Jess away. The same way he felt when people began leaving the last world. 

He pulled Jess aside after the meeting. 

“You’re welcome to come back anytime you want.” Xisuma told him. 

“Thank you, X.” Despite the soft smile on his face, the ex assassin sounded quite down. 

That only reaffirmed the fear in X’s heart. 

The group gathered at spawn. The air was filled with a nostalgic sadness. Everyone had agreed this was the best route but the idea of leaving all of these memories behind twisted in their guts. Knowing Jessassin wouldn’t appear in the next world with them only dampened the mood further. 

Xisuma stood facing the group. He whistled once to gather the attention. 

“Is everyone here? Are we missing anyone?” The crowd murmurs. “No? Okay, great.” 

He clears his throat, trying to not get choked up before he even begins.

“I wanted to say a few things before we move worlds. Firstly-” He looks to Jess. “as all of you are aware by now, Jessassin won’t be joining us next season. I feel I speak for all of us when I say we’ll miss having you around, Jess. As I said to you a few days ago, you’re welcome to rejoin us anytime- you know how to contact me.” 

Jessassin nods, shoulders hunched as he feels all of the attention on him. 

“Next, I’d like to thank all of you.” Xisuma can feel his eyes burning. “I’ve never felt I belonged somewhere more than I feel I do with all of you- oh, pardon me.” 

Xisuma blinks away the tears forming in his eyes and tries to get rid of the lump forming in his throat. 

“We all owe you a thanks as well, Xisuma.” Joe speaks up. “None of us would have a home if not for you.”

“Yeah! You taking over as admin saved us from returning to our home worlds or having to find a new place to go.” Biffa adds. 

“Not to mention risking your safety to save a few of us from our previous lives.” Cleo calls out from the back of the group. 

“I couldn’t even  _ begin  _ to imagine where I’d be without you.” False says.

“Me either, man,” Agrees Jevin. 

Xisuma lifts his helmet off to wipe at the tears threatening to spill over. A few ‘aww’s resonate from the group. Keralis excuses his way up to the front of the gathering, reaching out to pull Xisuma into a hug. 

“You’ve come so far since the first time I met you.” The male whispers into Xisuma’s ear. “I’m proud of you, Shashwammy.” He pulls back, hands rested on the admin’s shoulder. “You okay?” 

“Yes, Keralis, thank you.” Xisuma nods. Keralis steps back to rejoin the crowd.

“So, are you all ready for the transfer?” Xisuma asks, slipping his helmet back on. There’s a collective cheering. Xisuma chuckles. “Alright, that settles it.”

He pulls up the admin panels. He looks to Jess one more time, giving him another hidden smile. The silence returns as he types out the commands. Xisuma sighs.

“Here we go.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I technically have the first chapter for s3 done, but I think I might wait an extra day or two to post it. Just to make sure everything is top-quality for y'all :).


	9. Chapter Eight: Burning Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly not sure how I feel about this chapter. I don't think I'll be using the format again.   
> TW: None!

Xisuma was quite proud of himself for finding this new world. It was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. Mountains as far as the eye could see, roaring waterfalls creating lakes and ponds, gravity defying islands floated between the mountains. He could hear an assortment of oo’s and ah’s as more hermits spawned in. 

Doing a quick headcount, Xisuma was glad to find everyone had arrived safely. He still felt guilt in the pit of his stomach not seeing Jess’ face in the crowd. 

“Is everyone ready to get started?” Xisuma asked, pushing that feeling aside. 

The group of hermits cheered. It brought a smile to Xisuma’s face seeing everyone so eager. The morale in their previous world had been so low for so long. Everyone needed this fresh start, this blank slate. 

“Then what are you all waiting for? Get going!” The admin called out. He stood in the spawn field and watched as the group spread out. His communicator was already buzzing with achievements made. 

As much as Xisuma wanted to join in on the race to get started, he had other business to take care of. He needed to at least get a starter home set up before heading off. He’d already taken a cursory glance around the world when he first found it so he had a small headstart on everyone else. 

It took all night, but Xisuma finally got a starter base set up. He didn’t want to get too carried away. This place was only temporary, afterall. He had big plans this season. 

His admin communicator buzzed. Xisuma pulled it from his pocket, wondering what it could be about. He inputs the password.

_ Meeting with T.  _

Xisuma sucks in a breath. He completely forgot! He’d gotten so caught up in his starter base project-. Hopefully he isn’t too late. 

Xisuma shoots a quick message to Joe. The poet responds surprisingly swiftly, letting the admin know he received the message and wishing him safe travels. Xisuma trusts Joe with the safety of the server and, most importantly, the other hermits. 

Not all Xisuma can do is hope he was remembering some details about his destination incorrectly. 

Sadly, he remembered it perfectly. This is one of those times Xisuma regretted his choice in daily-wear. The heat in the Nether was one thing. The Deep Nether was a whole nother story. It’s hot enough that water evaporates almost instantly upon being brought in, even stored in the inventory. At least in the normal Nether the water was safe until it was placed down. 

The only thing stranger than why anyone would want to live in a place like this is how you get to it. Every world has a Nether and End dimension of its own but a Deep End or Deep Nether. Every world shares the same ones. It’s why they’re more commonly referred to as ‘World Hubs’ (More so the Deep End). Most players bypass these ‘hubs’ all together. It’s rare for players to have to enter worlds they don’t already have direct access to with their communicators. Opening your comm here you’re met with a list of every currently active server. It’s overwhelming at first but you learn how to navigate the chaos. Xisuma was never entirely sure just how that worked but he wasn’t one to ask too many questions. Especially ones he’d never find an answer to. 

He was making the trek from the Deep Nether spawn to a far out village. He’d been given the coords a while ago. Ideally he’d just teleport there but Xisuma wasn’t entirely certain how accurate they are. He doesn’t want to risk ending up above a lava lake or guessing the altitude incorrectly and ending up stuck under the Netherrack. He should be there soon enough. Only a couple hundred blocks to go. 

A couple hundred blocks doesn’t sound like a lot but it sure felt like it. He’d finally arrived at the quaint village. The buildings were all made of Netherbrick and quartz. It was a lovely sight compared to the surrounding landscape. 

He got some strange looks from the demons. Xisuma tried to not let it get to him. He knew it was more intrigue than anything. Most of them have probably never seen someone from outside the Deep Nether. Most people aren’t in any hurry to visit the place (or even know it exists, for that matter). 

Xisuma looks for a specific house. He’d only visited it once before but he should be able to pick it out with ease. 

Or not. He knocked on the door of the wrong houses four times now. He raises his fist for the fifth try and gives a courteous knock. 

“Coming!” A familiar voice calls from inside.

Soon enough the door opens. Xisuma can’t help but grin. 

“Xisuma! Hey man! I’ve been expecting you.” Tango greets, pulling the admin into a tight hug. “What’s up? Does Mumbo need help with another farm?”

“No, not this time.” Xisuma chuckles. The demon’s enthusiasm is contagious. “We just started in a new world. I wanted to talk about you joining us this season.”

The blond had been to their previous world once. Mumbo tried to build a farm designed by him but couldn’t figure out why it didn’t work. Xisuma offered to track him down and ask for his help. Needless to say, he left a lasting impression. He was Xisuma’s first thought when it came to new members. 

“Oh man!” He sounded positively giddy. “I’d be honored!”

“I thought you might enjoy it. You seemed pretty bummed out when you had to leave before.”

“Oh boy, was I ever. I was pretty jealous of what you all had going.” 

“I’m sure everyone will be thrilled to see you again.” 

“Don’t give me too big of an ego here, X.” Tango teased. 

“I’ll take your excitement as a yes?” Tango sputtered at the question.

“Duh!” He replied. 

“In that case I’ll give you the new IP. You can pop over whenever you’re ready. Alright? You’re already whitelisted.”

“Sure thing, man!” Tango beamed. 

After writing down the server’s address the pair said their farewells and Xisuma went on his way. 

At least he didn’t have to walk the whole way back to spawn.


	10. Chapter Nine: Prostheses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Body horror, mild description of questionable surgical procedures, eye gore (missing eye).  
> I've never watched any of Doc's content outside of joint work with other Hermits so it's extremely OOC. I was also very inspired by rereading The Parting Glass by Sekrap.

Strange things happen with spawning from time to time. Sometimes it’s an oddly colored sheep. Other times it’s an Enderman with green eyes instead of purple. What happened this time around was a bit more extreme. 

Xisuma’s communicator was buzzing wildly. The sun was just above the horizon, it’s odd for anyone to be awake at this hour.

_ZombieCleo: X you up?_

_ZombieCleo: You gotta come see this._

_ZombieCleo sent you coordinates._

The first message was sent quite a while before the second. Xisuma types out a reply. 

_Xisuma: Be there in a minute._

He rubs the sleep from his eyes before pulling his helmet over his head. Securing the comm in his pocket, coords displayed on the visor’s built in display, Xisuma heads for the door.

“Oh good heavens!” The admin exclaims.

“Right? Never seen anything like it.” 

Cleo stood next to Xisuma as the pair observed the anomaly. A creeper. At least Xisuma assumes that’s what it's supposed to be. It's oddly humanoid. Two legs rather than four, stumps resembling shoulders and part of a bicep, the left side of its face is horribly disfigured. 

“Is it alive?” Xisuma asks.

“Last I checked,” Cleo replied. “So, what do we do?” 

Xisuma crouched down, tugging off a glove, and checked for a pulse. He honestly isn’t even sure if the creatures are meant to have one. At least he can see it’s breathing. Whatever life it has left it’s sure as hell clinging on. 

“I don’t want to risk bringing it near anyone’s base. Cause… y’know.” Xisuma trailed off. Cleo laughed. 

“Should we just hang around? See if it wakes up?”

Xisuma shrugs.

“I guess.” 

It was nearly noon before the creeper began to stir. A familiar hissing drew the pair’s attention over to the previously prone form. 

It’s one remaining eye opened. The eye looked rather typical, an inky void-like black. It glanced around, eventually catching sight of Cleo and X. 

Xisuma waved awkwardly. 

The creeper bared it’s razor sharp teeth. There was sizzling, like when you light TNT. It faded out with no explosion following. 

“That could have gone a lot worse.”

“Oh yeah,” Cleo scoffs. “I hope you put a plan together in that big head of yours, X.”

“I didn’t think we’d get this far.” 

“Of course you didn’t.” 

It took about 20 minutes, a fresh set of teeth marks in Xisuma’s armor, and a steak peace offering to gain the creeper’s trust. 

“Cleo, can you message Mumbo and ask him to meet us at my place?”

“Sure.” Cleo replies, pulling out her comm. 

“And tell him to prepare himself and not freak out when he gets there.” 

“That won’t happen.”

“It’s worth a try.”

Xisuma tries his best to support the malformed creeper. Thankfully the walk to his base wasn’t terribly long. Mumbo is likely to already be there when they arrive. That might be for the better, so the redstoner can’t take off. 

* * *

Cleo opens the door for Xisuma, who gives a quiet utterance of thanks in return. Maneuvering his way through the door frame with another being relying on him almost entirely for support was difficult. He tried not to bump the creeper into anything and injure him further. Cleo lent as much help as she could, warning him if he got too close to anything out of his range of sight. 

“Mumbo?” Cleo calls out. “Are you here?” 

“Yeah!” Comes a reply from a neighboring room. “I was just checking to see if you were around anywhere. Why did you need me- oh dear!” 

The redstoner recoiled, ducking back into the room he’d just emerged from. 

“Do you know how to make redstone prostheses?” Xisuma asks, ignoring the younger man’s obvious hesitance. 

“Uh, yeah,” He begins. “Well- not _entirely_ but I have looked at Biffa’s. I could figure it out.” 

“You don’t sound very confident.” The admin says, helping the creeper sit on a spare bed. 

“I can manage, I promise. It’ll just take a few days.” 

“Can you see about getting Tango or Biffa to help you out? Maybe make it a little easier on you?” Cleo suggests. 

It’s a reasonable idea. Both have an impressive grasp on redstone mechanics. Being able to share ideas and work together would take some of the stress off of the younger redstoner and save time.

“Yeah, not sure how I’d explain this though.” He rubs the back of his neck, chuckling nervously.

“I can tag along,” Cleo offers. “I won’t be much help with building them but I can at least get you some.” Mumbo nods in acceptance. “Did you need any help, X?” 

“No, thank you, Cleo. I’ve got this under control. We just need to focus on the prostheses.” 

“Of course, don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything.”

“I won’t.” 

Cleo nods, signaling Mumbo to follow her out. Once the door shuts, Xisuma sighs. This isn’t at all how he expected today to go. 

Tango showed up a few hours later, asking to get a few measurements. He was tentative, making at little contact as necessary. X couldn’t tell if he was being cautious or courteous. Knowing the demon, it was likely the latter. 

He was quick, jotting numbers down in a small book. The blond estimated it would only take a day or two with the trio working. Xisuma was relieved. He was struggling to keep up brewing enough healing potions. At the rate things are going he’s bound to run out of both melon and gold before long.

“I’ll keep in touch, alright man?” 

“I’d appreciate it. Good luck keeping Biffa in line.” 

“Nether knows I’ll need it,” Tango laughs.

The door clicks shut. 

* * *

Xisuma thought a day would be a bit of an underestimation. The trio must have worked through the night to get everything finished. Given the bags under their eyes, X is going to assume that was the case. 

“I’ve got a weakness and a regen potion. They should be enough to dope him up so he doesn’t feel anything.” Tango explains. “It’d be best if he was totally unconscious. I’m not sure how to do that without just hitting him over the head.”

“I can force him into being AFK,” says Xisuma. 

“Oh,” Tango’s brows scrunch. “I didn’t know you could do that.” 

“You would be surprised, my friend.” 

“Terrifying, go on and do your thing then.” 

Xisuma chuckles, pulling up the admin panels through the comm. 

“I’ve never done it on a non-player, hopefully it still works.”

Hitting enter, X looks to the creeper expectantly. At first he’s a bit disappointed. It didn’t seem to have worked. But, after a few moments, the creeper slouched over. Tango caught him, moving him to be laying on the bed. 

Tango pulls a seat over, gesturing for Biffa to do the same. 

“I hope none of you are squeamish.”

Mumbo ended up having to leave the room. Xisuma followed behind to make sure he was okay. 

The process was rather disgusting. X had found himself unable to look away. Seeing Biffa and Tango work to connect wiring to nerves with precision and delicacy. 

Watching the limbs move and calibrate was strange. The pair seemed satisfied that everything was in working condition. Tango wrapped the connections between prosthetic and the natural forearm to ensure it didn’t get infected. The face and eye prosthetic were more tricky. He opted to simply apply some healing potion on a wool square around the seam. It would serve its purpose, just not as well as when ingested. 

“Let him rest up for a couple days before you wake him back up.” Biffa instructed. “And make sure you keep everything clean.” 

“Of course, thank you for doing this. I know it was a bit of a strange request.” 

“Sure was fun though,” Tango said, a grin on his face. “Never got to do anything like that before.” 

Xisuma looks over to the unconscious creeper. Hopefully this goes all to plan. 

* * *

Xisuma was careful to follow Biffa’s directions. He’d hate for all their hard work to go to waste. It was an easy thing to add to his routine. Every time he thought enough days had passed he decided to wait just one more. 

This lasted for nearly a week and a half. All of the wounds were well healed, no sign of infection. It was Keralis who ended up convincing him to just rip the metaphorical band-aid off. Defeated, Xisuma decided getting it over with was likely for the better.

The process of the cyborg waking up and adjusting to the new limbs was a rocky one. Xisuma had no real way of communicating with him, asking if anything hurt. He could only assume nothing was wrong and it was simply the strange sensation. 

Teaching the creeper to speak (or at least understand them) was the next most logical step. The only problem being X was about as far as you can get from being a teacher. He’d have to talk to Cleo, he’s fairly certain she was a teacher back in her home world. 

The admin could finally feel some of the stress from the past week draining from his consciousness. He let out a heavy sigh. He’s starting to bite off more than he can chew with these new members.


	11. Chapter Ten: Shudder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fought myself on this chapter a lot. I rewrote it 3 times. I considered not posting today but upon looking over it and tweaking a few things this morning I felt a lot better about it.  
> TW: There's a section at the end that could be read as a panic attack but it wasn't intended that way. That's about it.

“Did you hear about the new guy?” 

Keralis’ large eyes fill with confusion as he looks over to Bdubs. 

“What new guy?” 

“Genny brought someone back with him from the Deep End a couple days ago. Hypno saw them.” Bdubs explains. 

“Who is he?” Keralis sits his mug down. 

“No idea. I tried asking about him when Genny came over to ask if I had a spare shirt he could borrow. But-” He adjusts in his half-crouched sitting position. “I did hear a rumor that he’s a Voidwalker.”

“A what?”

“I know right! I had no idea either!” The brunet gestures excitedly with his hands. “Whatever it is, it can’t be good. I heard a few people saying they might be leaving.”

“Isn’t that a bit… extreme?” 

Bdubs shrugs, “Not sure. I haven’t seen him yet.” 

Relaxing back into his seat, his eyebrows scrunch together in thought, Keralis takes a sip of his coffee. It’s barely warm. 

“Do you wanna come with me when I pick my stuff up? Genny said I could stop by tomorrow.” Bdubs asks.

Keralis would be lying if he said he wasn’t the least bit intrigued. 

“Yeah, why not?”

Bdubs raps on the door, a wide yawn escaping him. Keralis is about to comment on Bdubs not getting his beauty sleep but the door swinging open cuts him off. Genny’s warm grin welcoming them from the other side.

“Good to see you man!” The older man greets, pulling Bdubs into a tight hug. He turns to Keralis, still beaming, and pulls him into a similar embrace. “Why don’t you both come in? Can I get either of you something to drink?”

“You got coffee?” Bdubs asks, another yawn surfacing. 

Generik chuckles.

“I can get some brewing, sure. Anything for you, K?” 

“No, thank you.” 

“Alright, let me know if you change your mind. You both know where the sitting room is. I'll catch up with you in a minute.”

The pair step into the house and make their way to the living quarters. They both take a seat. Bdubs props his feet up on the scuffed coffee table. 

“Bubbles.” Keralis scolds.

“What? I do this all the time.” 

_Thunk, thunk._ A heavy set of footfalls enters the room. Bdubs turns to check the source and visibly pales. He turns back around, staring wide eyed at the floor. Keralis raises an eyebrow. He turns to look for himself.

“Woah-” Keralis says under his breath.

The figure in the doorway is somewhat reminiscent of Biffa. Keralis can’t tell if they’re a cyborg or just wearing highly advanced armor. It’s unlike anything he’s ever seen before. He glances back over to Bdubs to find him shrinking down into the couch. 

“Oh! Xisuma!” Keralis hears Generik exclaim.

He appears around the corner a moment later. A mug of steaming coffee in one hand and a neatly folded light blue shirt draped over his arm. 

“C’mon, sit down. I can introduce you.” The older man insists. Xisuma follows with hesitance. 

Generik hands the mug over to Bdubs who utters a soft thanks. Generik takes a seat opposite the pair, kicking his own feet up on the table. Keralis rolls his eyes. Xisuma follows by example, sitting next to the admin. He isn’t as relaxed, keeping an upright posture. Generik pats his armored shoulder. 

“This is Xisuma.” Generik begins. “Xisuma- this is Keralis and Bdubs.” 

Keralis waves, giving a bright smile. Bbubs mumbles a hey, eyes still glued to his coffee. Xisuma simply nods in greeting. 

“And I thought _you_ weren’t talkative.” Generik chuckles, looking over to Xisuma. “So, how are you boys doing?”

“Very good!” Keralis exclaims. “My base is coming along very nicely.”

“Still in the jungle?”

“Sure am!” 

“What about you Bdubs?” 

He doesn’t answer, eyes still glued on the swirls of milk.

“Are you okay?” The older man asks- worry lacing his words.

“I should go.” Bdubs finally replies. He sits the untouched coffee on the table and stands. He picks up his shirt from the arm out the couch. “Thanks for getting this back to me. I should be going.” There’s a forced grin on his face.

“Oh, okay. Thanks for stopping by.” 

The remaining trio sit in silence as Bdubs makes his leave. 

“Did I do something?” Xisuma asks. His voice is softer than Keralis would have expected. Generik sighs.

“No, son. He was just taken a little off guard. I’ll talk to him later, okay?”

Xisuma doesn’t reply, only slouches. For whatever reason the sight makes Keralis’ heart clench. 

“Do you still want to stay, Keralis?”

“Yeah, I’d be happy to talk for a while longer.”

* * *

Bdubs was gone two days later. He didn’t tell anyone until he was already packed and ready to go. He simply thanked Generik for everything and went on his way. He didn’t give a reason, though most people could figure it out. 

Keralis had to find out through the grapevine. He made the trek to Generik’s early one morning. The admin opened the door with tired eyes and a solemn expression. 

“Have you seen Bubbles?” The older man’s expression dropped further.

“He left, Keralis. A few days ago.” 

A loud crash resonated from within the house, it made the pair at the door jump. 

“Xisuma?” Generik called out. “Sorry- give me a moment.”

Keralis followed as the admin retreated back into the house, calling out the newest hermit’s name again. He glanced into rooms as he passed by before finally ducking into one, seemingly in a hurry.

Keralis stood silently in the doorway. The first thing he had seen was a familiar helmet lying discarded on the floor. The visor was cracked in a few places but still in one piece. The metal was scuffed in a similar shape to the fresh dent in the wall. 

“Xisuma, c’mon.” Generik pleaded. 

Keralis stalked further into the room, only enough to see the pair kneeling on the floor. Generik hovered awkwardly, unsure of what to do. Xisuma was shaking, tear trails stained his cheeks. 

“I’m sorry.” The younger man hiccupped.

“It wasn't your fault, I promise.” 

Keralis could tell the reassurance wasn’t doing any good. 

“Hey.” Keralis said, keeping his voice low. Generik looked back at him in surprise, like he didn’t know Keralis had followed him inside.

He excused himself, Generik moved out of his way. He brought up both of his hands to cup Xisuma’s face. Seeing him up close only broke Keralis’ heart further. 

His eyes shone a vivid lavender, soft freckles dusted his cheeks and nose in a matching hue. His hair was mostly flattened from the helmet but certain parts stuck up at odd angles, almost like it had been pulled.

Keralis ran his thumbs across Xisuma’s cheeks, rubbing away tears at the same time. He shifted his hold, one hand on the back of Xisuma’s head while the other pulled him into a hug. Keralis let his eyes drift shut as he gently rocked side to side. 

In that moment, Keralis felt like he knew the man shaking in his arms as long as he had lived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is going to be late. Hopefully not by long. If you're itching to read something I have a one shot posted from a little while ago. I'll still be active on tumblr so feel free to say hi or send an ask.


	12. Chapter Eleven: Damn Ninjas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to wait a couple extra days to write and post this but I can't seem to figure out what else to put and waiting wouldn't have changed that so here it is. It's a bit shorter than usual. Honestly really not a fan. Writer's block is slowly kicking in. I'm either going to adjust the schedule again or take a short break after s3 wraps up. I'll make a decision by next chapter's upload.  
> TW: There's a knife at one point but that's it.

Generik sighed. He ran the pad of his thumb across the fractures in the tinted glass. To say the least, Generik felt like shit. He failed. He promised Xisuma that he’d be safe here with the hermits. It hadn’t even been a week and he’d already broken down twice. 

Generik had no idea what he would have done if Keralis hadn’t followed him inside. He felt utterly pathetic watching Keralis do what he couldn’t. 

To make matters worse, he’d heard someone else left the night before. Is that what’s going to happen? Is everyone going to leave him? _ All because of that _ -

Generik inhales.

Everything will be just fine. 

The door creaked open and Keralis stepped into the room. Generik’s attention stayed on the spider-web of breaks in the visor. 

“Is he okay?” 

“Yes, just fine.” Keralis replied, taking a seat next to the admin. “What about you?” 

Generik’s brows scrunched together. He wasn’t sure, in all honesty. He’d spent so much time focusing on Xisuma recently he hadn’t taken any time to look after himself.

“I’m at a bit of a loss.” 

“Care to elaborate?” 

Generik shrugged, sat the helmet on the coffee table, and made a mental note to stop by Biffa’s later.

“I think I’ve finally found my limit.” He explained. “If what just happened is anything to go by I’m obviously not fit to help him.”

“I think you just need to give him some space.” 

“How?” 

“For one don’t keep him cooped up inside all the time. Let him settle down somewhere and make his own life.”

“I don’t know if I trust him to be on his own.” 

“He just needs time to adjust, Genny. He can’t do that with you breathing down his neck all the time. Plus, you can always check in on him.” 

“You’re right. I need to take a few steps back. It’ll probably do both of us some good.” 

“I trust you’ll do the right thing.” Keralis brought his hand up to give Generik’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “If you still have some doubts I’d suggest talking to Joe. There’s some decent advice locked up in that head of his.”

“Yeah yeah.”Generik chuckled. “Do you mind hanging out for a bit longer while I drop the helmet off with Biffa? See if he can do anything about the damage?” 

“Not at all.” 

* * *

It slowly becomes obvious that creepers aren’t made for human speech. Cleo still works tirelessly. The cyborg could get out a few basic phrases but still relies on the creeper-typical grunts and hisses. Joe has taken to helping out on occasion. The man is astonishingly patient. 

Mumbo stops by to check on the prosthesis every now and then. He makes a few tweaks and ensures everything has healed properly. The surface may seem in perfect condition but it would take a bit longer for the nerves to heal fully. 

Xisuma is glad to see the hermits aren’t avoiding the hybrid entirely. X knows that feeling well. He wouldn’t wish the overwhelming isolation on anyone. 

With everything going well for time time being, Xisuma feels it’s time to meet with his next person of interest. Hopefully the server doesn’t burn to the ground while he’s gone. 

* * *

“Who are you?” The edge of the small blade is pulled up against Xisuma’s throat. “Do you work for someone?” 

Xisuma stammers, barely having the time to register his current situation let alone what’s being asked of him. 

The admin hadn’t been in the house for more than a minute before he found himself pinned to the splintering floor. He doesn’t have much reason to be afraid. The knife would have to be unnaturally sharp to slice through his armor. Xisuma’s biggest concern is the damage that could be done to his helmet. If the static feedback is anything to go by one of the audio filtering systems is already destroyed. 

_ “Answer me.” _ The masked man hisses.

_ “Xisuma!  _ I’m Xisuma.”

The blade moves away from his throat. The hand on the side of his helmet remains along with the knee pressing into his back. 

“Why are you here?  _ How  _ are you here?” 

“I’m an admin.”

“So you came to take over? I hope you don’t think you’ll get away with that.”

“No I- I’m the leader of HermitCraft. I came here to ask you to join us.” 

There’s a scoff above him. 

“That pack of misfits? I’ve heard of it. Could have sworn there was supposed to be an old guy in charge, though.” The masked man stands allowing Xisuma to turn over and sit up. 

“Heard of it? What do you mean?” 

“Rumor mill.” The man shrugs. His demeanor has taken a full 180 degree turn from only moments ago. “So, why me?” 

If you could get whiplash from a conversation, Xisuma would have it by now. 

“I’m fairly capable of keeping the server safe from intrusion- but  _ obviously  _ I have some room to improve.”

“Let me get this straight- you want to hire me as a server bodyguard..?”

“That’s not exactly how I’d put it.” Xisuma stands. “More like I provide you a world and community to be part of and you help protect it in the event it’s needed.” 

“So I don’t get paid?” 

“No?” This isn't going how Xisuma pictured it. The other man’s silence isn’t helping to quell his nerves. Maybe he should have gone to see-

“Eh, I guess it’s better than staying in this janky city.” He shrugs and extends a hand. “I’m Etho, by the way.” 

“I know.” Xisuma lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. “Glad to have you on the team.” 


	13. Chapter Twelve: In Plain Sight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 chapters left in season 3! I'll be taking an itty bitty break between seasons this time around. I hope to get most of the writing done before I even start posting so I don't end up trying to finish a chapter on the day it's meant to go up. Thank you all for the support so far! I'm overjoyed with the response to my work. 250 kudos and just over 3000 hits at the time of writing this. I almost can't believe it!  
> TW: Nothing!

The season is going fantastically. Everyone seems to be having a blast utilizing the abnormal terrain. Seeing buildings carved in the sides of the mountains and built atop the towering landscapes brings a strange warmth into the admin’s chest. 

Xisuma is quite proud of his own progress. He’s gained a lot of experience in the last couple years for sure. It may not live up to what some of the other hermits are capable of but Xisuma doesn’t care. He’s learned that comparing yourself to others is just asking for disaster. 

He’s just finished work on his storage system. It’s a big upgrade and took more time than he anticipated. It’s left him completely exhausted. He can’t even begin to think about doing any admin work. He’s ready to hang up his helmet for the night and  _ sleep _ . 

Xisuma makes his way to the small bedroom. It’s rather plain, he didn’t feel the need to make it too extravagant seeing as though he doesn’t spend much time here. 

He starts off by shedding his armor and placing the various pieces on a specially built stand. He enjoyed the familiar grounding feeling the armor gave him but it sure felt nice to get out of it every now and then. 

Tugging off his helmet, Xisuma settles it on the bed side table and picks up the smaller breathing mask next to it. Tango built it for him after learning the admin slept with the helmet on. Technically Xisuma doesn’t need breathing support when he sleeps, his breathing slows down and shallows out enough that the Overworld atmosphere doesn’t bother him. 

The small device rests snugly against his face. Air flows through the filters with a soft hissing. 

Xisuma settles into bed, pulling up the red wool blankets. He glances at the small plush wolf that sits next to his pillow. Keralis gave it to him some time ago as a Christmas gift (“He will protect you while you sleep!”). It did somehow make him feel safer. 

Xisuma closes his eyes and lets out a relaxed sigh as he drifts off to sleep. 

* * *

The last thing he expected to wake up to was a notification on his admin communicator. Even less so for the message to be from someone outside of the server. There was no message. No name. Just a set of hub coordinates. 

Xisuma reached for his helmet. It’s worth checking out, right? 

* * *

Xisuma looked around the hub spawn the moment he popped in. The coordinates displayed on his visor are close to the ones he’d received. Whoever sent them was nearby. 

“Hello?” He called out. The dense fog made spotting a silhouette difficult. “I got your message!” 

Nothing. 

The admin walked around the area, glancing behind outcroppings and stray boulders. There was no sign of any other players. Something wasn’t right about this. 

Xisuma was ready to abort the venture and head home. The command was already typed up and ready to activate when he finally did get a response. 

“Wait, please!” 

Xisuma stopped. Had it come from behind him? 

He turned only to be met by more nothingness. Is it a prank? A  _ trap _ ? He tensed feeling a hand on his shoulder. Looking back he watched as seemingly empty space morphed to a bright red form.

“I didn’t think anyone saw my message!” Their voice is laced with relief. 

Xisuma took a moment to understand what he was looking at. They appeared to be some kind of creeper- though he’d never seen one like this. Xisuma could hear a slight lisp in their words but it didn’t make them impossible to understand. 

“Who are you? And how did you send a message to my admin console?” 

They glanced back over their shoulder. 

“I don’t have a lot of time to explain myself-” 

“Can I at least get your name?” Xisuma asked. 

“Python.” 

“Is someone following you, Python?” 

Python nodded frantically. 

This had just gotten a lot more complicated.

“What’s your player ID?” 

Xisuma typed the string of letters into his console as they’re relayed to him and added Python to the server whitelist. Xisuma couldn’t just leave him here. He was wary to trust the stranger but if he tried anything Xisuma can easily remove Python from the server should it be needed. 

Python continued to look around as Xisuma typed. He grew more tense with every passing moment. 

“I’m going to tell you the server IP, okay?” 

Python nods.

* * *

Once the pair spawned into the server, Xisuma could see the tension in Python’s shoulders melt away. 

“Thank you.” The red creeper said.

“Not a problem- but you’re not out of the woods yet. I still need an explanation.” 

“Yes- of course.” Strangely, he tapped at the side of his face. Xisuma was surprised to hear a slightly metallic echo. “I just sent the coordinates to any receiving communicator. I can connect to admin comms, even on a closed server.” 

“You need admin powers to do that.” 

“I don’t have the powers, just an old admin comm. The cross server messaging only works in the hub.” 

“I’m not sure I follow.” 

“I have a built-in communicator. It just happens to be a half-functional admin comm. It’s rather complicated…”

Having someone else with access to an admin comm- fully functioning or not- didn’t settle well in Xisuma’s mind. They could easily lie about it’s viability. Python had shown no malicious intent thus far. Xisuma felt he had to give them the benefit of the doubt. 

“Is that why you were being followed?” 

“Yeah. I guess they’re pretty valuable even when they’re broken.” The creeper shrugs.

Xisuma wasn't going to question how he got hold of one to begin with. Whoever fitted the cybernetics must have had access. If they could get hold of tech that’s capable of simulating skin  _ and _ could cooperate with whatever camouflaging capabilities Python possessed- broken admin communicators wouldn’t be far off. 

“You’re free to start your own base if you’d like.” Xisuma begins. “There’s a server meeting in a few days. I’ll introduce you to everyone then. Alright?” 

“Sure thing, thank you again for helping me out.”

“It’s no problem, my friend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I saw a headcanon years ago that Python can change color like a chameleon and idk man it just stuck with me.


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Witches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I change my mind. Gonna do another flashback chapter before the s3 finale.  
> TW: Nope!

The trio are sitting together in Tango’s base. So far coming up with the best way to tackle the quad-witch farm isn’t going all that well. The first problem is the fact it’s a quad farm. With only 3 people currently working on the project the workload is a bit more than any of them are looking for. 

“What about Biffa?” Mumbo suggests. 

Xisuma shakes his head, “He’s working on a Wither farm.”

Tango’s head snaps up, a bright smile splitting his face. Mumbo and Xisuma look to him, awaiting an explanation for his sudden mood shift.

“I know just the guy for this job.” 

Xisuma raises an eyebrow, though the action is hidden beneath his helmet. 

“Impulse; he’s an old friend of mine.”

“The guardian guy?” Mumbo asks, quirking his own brow.

“Yes! That’s him.” 

Tango looks to Xisuma expectantly, a glimmer of hope dancing around in his bright red eyes. He can almost see the excitement radiating from the demon. 

“Do you know what server he’s in?” The admin asks. “And how to get there?”

Tango nods. Xisuma can’t see any reason to not at least give Impulse a chance. He isn’t going to argue with Tango’s judgement of character. Xisuma gets up from his seat.

“Are you boys up for a little world hopping?” 

Tango’s expression grows impossibly more enthusiastic at the admin’s question. 

“You know it!” The demon responds. 

Mumbo, however, doesn’t look quite as excited. 

“ I’ll stay behind, if you don’t mind. I think I’d rather get a head start on my hut.”

Xisuma nods in understanding. Mumbo didn’t handle the transition between his home world and the HermitCraft server all that well. Xisuma can’t blame him for not wanting to go through that again. 

“I need to stop by my base and pick up the admin comm first. Meet me at spawn, Tango?” 

“Sure thing, dude.”

* * *

Tango stretches trying to relieve some of the muscle tension caused by the server changes. He never quite understood why that happens. Xisuma appears unphased by the transition as he stands tapping away on his communicator. 

“Do you know where his base is?” Xisuma asks. 

“Sure do!” 

“Alright,” Xisuma extends a hand, motioning for Tango to go ahead. “Lead the way.” 

Tango is struggling to keep his excitement in check. He’s been talking about his past adventures with Impulse for nearly twenty minutes. Xisuma enjoys hearing the memories his friends hold dear. It was just a little hard to understand the demon’s rambling. It feels like he’s trying to tell about a dozen stories at once, jumping between them with every other sentence. 

“Oh! There it is!” Tango cuts himself off, pointing towards the horizon. There’s a small oak and spruce building peeking out from the trees. The demon’s pace picks up.

Tango takes a moment to straighten out his vest and run a hand through his hair before knocking on the door. 

“Is that you, Skizz?” Someone calls from inside. The door swings open a moment later. The face of the man on the other side flickers through a range of emotions before settling on unfiltered joy. 

“Tango! What are you doing here man?” Impulse pulls Tango into a tight hug. Xisuma stays off to the side, allowing the pair to have their moment. 

“Remember when I told you about HermitCraft?”

“Sure do! You were helping with an iron farm?” 

“Exactly! Well, I was asked to join as a full time member at the start of this season. Obviously I wouldn’t give up an opportunity like  _ that _ …” 

“Congrats, man. Did you come all this way to let me know?” 

“Well…” Tango looks over to Xisuma, still grinning as widely as ever. “A few of us were about to start work on a quad witch farm. The problem is only three people were up to the task.”

“I think I can see where this is going.” Xisuma can hear the smile in Impule’s words. 

“I know you’ve got your own thing going on here  _ but  _ how would you feel about joining HermitCraft? Get back to our old shenanigans?” 

“Things have been slowing down around here recently. Haven’t seen a couple people in quite a while…” 

“So… is that a yes?” 

“I’m assuming you’ve already talked through this with your chain of command?”

“Yeah, he has.” Xisuma pipes up, finally stepping into view of the doorway. Impuls gives the admin a cursory examination. 

“Oh! You must be Xisuma! Tango has told me a lot about you.” 

“Aw, Tango. I’m flattered.” Xisuma chuckles as the demon attempts and fails to sputter out an explanation. “We’d love to have you, Impulse. Tango put in a good word on your behalf.” 

“I can’t put your good word to waste now, can I?” 

This time Tango is the one to pull Impulse into a rib crushing hug. 

“Is there anyone you need to talk to?” Xisuma asks.

“I should probably go talk to Skizz. Won’t take very long.”

“Alright, we’ll be at spawn.” 

* * *

It took both Impulse and Tango a few minutes to adjust after the transfer back to HermitCraft. Xisuma could only shake his head and wait for the pair to gather their bearings. 

After a quick tour of spawn and introducing Impulse to any hermit they bumped into along the way, the trio made their way to the location for the witch farm. 

Mumbo got a decent head start in the time Tango and Xisuma were gone. He’d already finished the base for his witch hut. 

“I’m going to get started on my part.” Xisuma begins. “You two can get caught up and figure your parts of the farm out.” 

“Alright. Thanks for the help, man.”

“Not a problem. Happy to have a new face around.”

With that, Xisuma starts on his way. He can already heat the pair giggling to themselves. He’s already counting on having to spend a little extra time on admin work. Speaking of admin work.

“Oh! And don’t forget about the meeting on Friday! We’re starting just after sunrise!” Xisuma calls back. 

Tango groans. 


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Enderpearls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing this chapter! It's another backstory driven one like I mentioned in the last part.  
> TW: strong language, reference to medical procedures.  
> as always comments are much appriciated!

Aph jabs his elbow into Ecks’ ribs. The Voidwalker hisses. It’s more in annoyance than from pain. He turns to scold his companion. The other’s expression stops him. The green-armor tilts his head in a way that says ‘Look over there’. Ecks rolls his eyes as he turns to look at Aph’s point of interest. 

A pair of red-armors looked about ready to tear out one another's throats. Each seemed to barely be holding back. Glaring at the other from across the table. Ecks sees the mouth of the one facing him move. He can’t make out what was whispered, but it severed the final nerve. 

The shorter of the two stands abruptly. The action doesn’t gather much attention. Fighting is far from uncommon. Nothing is ever done to stop it- the guards simply watch on. Waiting for it to come to and end so they can drag the offenders down to the deeper levels of the barracks. Fresh blood learns fast around here.

Personally, Ecks knows the lower levels very well. He spent a lot of time there when he was first starting out. The guards don’t bother with him anymore. He’s good at what he does and that’s all the higher ups care about. 

Ecks sits back, waiting for the situation to escalate and things to get _actually_ interesting. But it stops before the fun part can really begin. A green-armor stepped in. Ecks can tell he’s new, his armor matches the most recent base-unit design. He hasn’t learned the routines yet. 

He does his best to keep the two apart. Amazingly, it seems to work. The pair must have not really wanted to fight in the first place. The guards take this as a cue to take over. First, the two red-armors are dragged out of the room. What Ecks doesn’t expect is for the base-unit guy to also be pulled away. 

“Huh.” Another nearby guard glares at him in warning. Ecks doesn’t care. He knows nothing will happen. “That’s a shame.”

Aph chuckles. 

* * *

“Why do you think they dragged the green-armor out too?” Ecks asks.

Lights out was nearly an hour ago. The pair are sitting in their darkened dorm. The only light is the soft red glow from Ecks’ visor. 

Aph shrugs. 

“Remind me why I agreed to room with you again? I liked the other guy much better.” Ecks huffs. “Shame he never came back from that raid.”

New ‘recruits’ aren’t usually housed with the more experienced Walkers. Their arrangement is rather atypical. 

Ecks did enjoy sharing his space with a Brute rather than another SpecOp. Two SpecOps sharing a dorm is a recipe for disaster. The only thing they had in common was being hard-headed. But it made things interesting.

Ecks lays back on the cot, hands behind his head to act as a cushion. Be blinks up at the ceiling, sighing into the darkness around him.

* * *

It took nearly a week till Ecks saw the green-armor again. He’s sitting alone in the back of the canteen. Ecks nudges Aph, motioning for him to follow. 

He takes the seat next to the new recruit, ignoring all rules of personal space. He’s ignored. 

“What’s your name?” Ecks asks. 

The guy turns to look at him, abject horror is etched into his barely visible eyes. The look makes Ecks chuckle. He picks up a piece of popped chorus fruit and tosses it into his mouth. 

“Don’t worry. They won’t do shit to me.” He taps on the black star insignia next to his name plate. He sticks his tongue out when a guard turns to look at him. “Who’re you looking at, jackass?” 

Ecks drapes his arm over the younger males shoulders. He leans forward to check the name plate. The color matches the rest of the suit, a temporary marker. 

“So- What’re you in for, XisumaVoid?” Xisuma shifts uncomfortably in Ecks’ hold. “Are you not a talker either? Or are you just worried about the guards jumping you?” 

Xisuma mumbles something. Ecks can’t quite hear him

“What was that?” 

“Theft.” He speaks up ever so slightly.

“ _That’s it?”_ Ecks almost can’t believe it. “They’ve got you in this hell hole for _theft_? Ha! Watchers must be getting desperate.” 

This time the guard moves. Their hand moves to the hilt of their sword, taking a threatening step forward. Ecks just waves them off.

“I get it, I get it- I said the forbidden name. Back off.” 

“Why aren’t you afraid?” 

“I’m a rank five- they can’t touch me. You’re just a little rank null for now. That’ll change after you get your organs rearranged.” 

“My- my what?” 

Ecks throws his head back and laughs.

“Unless you’ve already got a pearl, you’re gonna get one.” 

Ecks tosses another piece of chorus fruit into his mouth. Xisuma looks over to Aph for confirmation. The Brute nods. Xisuma leans forward with his head in his hands, elbows resting on the table. The SpecOp pats his back sympathetically. 

“You’re in for a lot of surprises, my friend.” 

* * *

Ecks got to know Xisuma as time went on. 

Firstly that he hates being called XisumaVoid, this gave Ecks all the more reason to _keep_ calling him that. 

Second was why he’d been sent here. His family had fallen into hard times. They had to choose between having a roof over their head or food in the pantry. Not having a safe place to stay in the Deep End is a death sentence. 

Xisuma hated hearing his parents lie, saying they weren’t hungry, telling him to eat instead. Watching as their cheekbones began to protrude and eyes grew sullen. It started to devour him. 

He did what he could. Doing under the table jobs, dropping out of school to have more time to work. And when that wasn’t enough, he started stealing. 

As any city dweller knows, you don’t go to prison. You get sent off to serve as a Voidwalker in exchange for your crimes. It usually took something more serious like murder or treason (which is why Ecks was so confused to see so many new faces recently). 

Sure, theft is frowned upon- but the consequence is rarely more than returning what was stolen and paying a fine. What exactly was stolen plays a role but most of the time people are only doing it out of necessity. Punishing someone who was simply trying to feed their family in the same way as a murderer is outlandish. Even by Ecks’ low standards. 

He started slowly- pocketing a handful of small chorus fruits or an extra apple before paying for the rest. The actions went unnoticed. He got brave. That led to him getting caught with a bundle of carrots- ones he hadn’t planned on paying for. 

He didn’t think much of getting caught. Maybe if he just explained himself they’d let him off easy. But they didn’t. He wasn’t even given a chance to defend himself. 

The worst part for Xisuma was knowing his parents would never understand what happened to him. For all they knew he just… ran away. Abandoned them. There’s nothing worse than being abandoned. 

It was after hearing this story that Ecks decided Xisuma was going right to the top of his ‘Must Protect’ list.

* * *

Which is why Ecks is about ready to throttle someone. 

Xisuma didn’t show up today. He wasn’t waiting for Ecks and Aph when they got to the canteen. 

“Where is he?” He growls. 

He’s in the guard’s space, they’re nearly chest to chest. If not for the helmet he’d spit right in the jackass’ face. 

“Don’t ignore me.” 

“Infirmary.” The guard’s words crackle through the helmet’s speaker. 

Ecks’ blood boils. It was going to happen at some point. Aph got his pearl in the first week, Ecks didn’t even have to wait a day. The influx of new Walkers is probably making things move quite a bit slower. 

That didn’t make him any less furious. 

* * *

The next time he sees Xisuma is almost a week later. He doesn’t react to either of them sitting down or Ecks asking if he’s okay. Not even the SpecOp knocking on his visor gets a rouse out of him. 

“What did they do, Xisuma?” Ecks asks. 

Xisuma doesn’t respond, simply rubs at his armored chest. That tells Ecks everything he needs to know. 

The trio sit in a heavy silence before the younger male lets out a watery chuckle, now picking at the shiny new name plate.

“I thought you were joking about the organ thing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ecks is just a hardass with a secret heart.


	16. Chapter Fifteen: Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woops  
> TW: panic attack but not really

They had made the decision much earlier in the season. The group would only be staying in this world for a short while. They’d already spent a little over a year living among the mountains. Everyone felt it was time to move on. While some projects were left unfinished, the motivation to continue on with them was gone. 

Xisuma called the hermits into a meeting. They gathered at spawn just before noon. Everyone chatted idly as they waited for the hermits who live further out to arrive. The sun had reached its peak and began its descent before the final hermit appeared between the mountains. 

The admin didn’t want to risk the meeting lasting into the night. He couldn’t see the harm in messing with time just a little considering this is their last day on the server. With a simple line of code, the sun paused in the sky before slowly ticking backwards. The cluster of hermits squinted up as the sun moved before freezing at high noon. It’s easy to forget just how much the admin was capable of. 

“I have just a couple of announcements to make.” Xisuma gathered the group's attention. “Jess reached out to me a few days ago- he will be rejoining us for the next season.”

There was a short celebration among the group before allowing their admin to continue.

“Finally, xB will not be joining us for the first week or so.” xB shrank away from the attention. Hypno put a comforting arm around his shoulders. “He has to return to his home world as per the agreement made with his family. As I’m the one taking him there, I won’t be around either. I trust I won’t return to the place in shambles?”

A few chuckled at the admin, others fondly rolled their eyes. 

Looking across the group Xisuma noticed that Keralis seemed a bit on edge. His eyes were downcast (If X wasn’t mistaken, he was messing with his communicator). His usual enthusiasm was nowhere to be found. Xisuma chalked it up to the world change. 

“I think that’s everything. Everyone ready?” 

In typical hermit fashion, he was answered with a barrage of cheering and clapping. Keralis looked up at Xisuma with sad eyes. The admin didn’t notice, he was too busy with his admin console. 

Just as Xisuma entered the server change confirmation, his personal comm pinging went unnoticed. 

* * *

Guilt was eating Keralis up. 

He couldn’t tell Xisuma. Keralis knew he wouldn’t be angry. Just imaging the look on the admin’s face was enough to make Keralis sick. That was enough for all of his better judgement to be thrown out the window. 

He stood in the middle of the crowd, finger hovered over the enter key. A private message to the admin was typed up, waiting to be sent. He’d gone over it, redone the entire thing about a dozen times in the days leading up to the switch. He felt awful doing it like this. Xisuma deserved to hear it straight from Keralis’ mouth. There was no time for him to change his mind. 

He took one last look at the admin before shutting his eyes. Just before the server closed, he hit send. 

_ You have been invited to the server: HermitCraft - Season Four.  _

_ … Join? _

_ Yes | No _

Keralis could already see the heartbreak in Xisuma’s eyes. Bursting with enthusiasm for the new world only for all of that excitement to be torn apart by Keralis’ selfishness. 

His eyes are glued to the prompt. He swallowed the ball of nerves in his throat.

_ … Join? _

_ Yes | No _

_ Yes |  _ **_No_ **

* * *

After taking xB to his home world, Xisuma could finally join the hermits in the new server. He’s gotten lucky finding interesting worlds for the last couple seasons. 

His newest find was an extensive mesa. The biome is typically nearly impossible to come across. You can imagine the admins surprise when he spawned into one, the end nowhere in sight. 

His personal communicator buzzes the moment he spawned in. He assumes it’s just a backlog of all the messages he missed. Anything important would have popped up on his admin comm. 

There’s already been a lot of progress made. Xisuma is surprised to find an already established communal area. His hermits don’t mess around. 

His comm buzzes again, a reminder of the unread notification. He pulls it out to clear what he expected to be a bunch of achievements made by the others in his absence. 

To his surprise, it wasn’t a backlog of achievement and banter. It’s a private message from Keralis. Dated to the exact moment of the server change. His heart shrinks the moment he opens it. 

_ My dearest Shashwammy,  _

_ I am sorry. I won’t be in the new world when you get back. I am returning to my home world. I couldn’t bring myself to tell you in person. I know you would have been understanding. You always are. I’ll come back one day, I promise you.  _

_ With love, Keralis.  _

Pulling up the server logs, Xisuma checks the player list. Keralis isn’t listed. He finds himself unable to breathe. 

_ Xisuma > JoeHills: W⍑ᒷ∷ᒷ ╎ᓭ ||𝙹⚍∷ ʖᔑᓭᒷ? _

_ JoeHills sent you coordinates.  _

* * *

Joe knew something would be horribly wrong just by the message he’d received. Xisuma only uses Galactic when he’s in distress and English is a little too much to grasp in the moment. He stands at the door, waiting for the knock signifying the admin’s arrival. He’d hastily prepared two cups of tea beforehand. 

Joe is pulled from his worry by the sharp knocking. He opens the door ready to greet Xisuma. He isn’t given the chance. 

“Keralis is gone.” The admin chokes out. 

Oh dear. 

“Come in, take a seat. I have tea ready on the table.” 

Guiding Xisuma through his starter home, Joe can’t help but wonder what in the world could have caused Keralis to leave. Out of all the people to disappear without reason, Keralis near the bottom of the list. 

“Get your helmet off and calm down for a minute, alright?” 

The admin nods, undoing the latches on his helmet with shaking hands. There’s an audible hiss as the unfiltered Overworld air seeps inside. Being without his helmet forces Xisuma to take more controlled breaths. 

Joe pours some chamomile tea into a cup and slides it across the table to the admin. Pouring himself one, Joe takes a seat. 

“Now explain to me what happened?”

“I spawned in after taking xB home.” Joe nods. “I had a notification on my personal comm. I thought it would just be some old achievement and chat messages.” 

“But it wasn’t?” 

Xisuma shakes his head. 

“It was a private message from Keralis. He went back to his home world. He- he couldn’t at least tell me in  _ person _ ?” 

“He was probably just worried about how you’d react is all.” 

“I wouldn’t have tried to force him to  _ stay  _ or anything. I’d have understood if he just explained! He said that himself in the message!” 

“Alright, alright. Calm down.” 

Xisuma didn’t seem to hear Joe’s words.

“What reason could he have had that made him so afraid to tell me? Is it me? Is this  _ my  _ fault? Has he been hiding how he felt all this time-”

_ “XisumaVoid.”  _ That got the Voidwalkers attention. “Stop with that nonsense. Telling yourself those lies won’t do you any good. Now, I’ve known Keralis a long time. He wouldn’t do something to hurt you on purpose. He cares about you Xisuma.” 

_ “Then the least he could have done is say goodbye.”  _ Joe wasn’t expecting to hear such venom dripping from the admin’s words. Something told Joe this outburst was caused by more than just Keralis’ disappearance. 

He sits in a stunned silence. Tears are rolling down Xisuma’s cheeks. 

“I can’t lose him too, Joe.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Season 4 chapters will begin to be posted after the full season is written.


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Wolf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hnng I'm sorry it's been so long y'all. I've been stressed out of my mind trying to finish up paper work for college. I was going to get all of s4 done before I started posting again but at this rate you wouldn't've gotten anything for like a month.  
> tw: isolation, depressive symptoms

Ecks hurt all over. The assignment took a lot longer than anyone in the unit expected. They were all told it’d be a week at most in the debrief. No one expected the rebellion to have such high security. Especially in a recently established outpost. 

But, they got the mission done in the end. That’s all that mattered to the higher ups. They don’t care about the casualty count or the fact that they ran out of supplies half way through. 

Ecks spent the first few days back holed up in the infirmary. A few broken ribs and a mild concussion were just enough to keep him there. 

When he was eventually let out, the first place he went was his dorm. He was surprised to find it empty. No sign of Aph. Nothing looked like it had been touched in the last few days. Aph was too new to have been sent out on a mission. He hasn’t even had-

_ Oh no. _

He’s in training. Ecks ran a hand through his hair. Well, the companionship was nice while it lasted. It was silly of him to think things would keep going his way. 

He simply flopped onto the cold cot and shut his eyes. He didn’t even bother going to collect his ration when the canteen opened. Sleep was much more appealing to him. 

* * *

A few hours later, the room’s door creaked open. Ecks cracked his eyes open, removing his arm from where it lay across his face to block the light. A pair of guards were dragging someone inside. 

It wasn’t Aph. 

Ecks sat up, vision swimming with the fast movement.

“That’s not my roommate.” 

Neither guard replied.

_ “Where’s Aph?” _

“Moved to the special containment blocks.” The helmet’s speakers crackled. 

Ecks gave the new guy a cursory glance. Red armor- slightly lighter in color than his own. Must be a new SpecOp model. He already knew he wouldn’t like the guy.

The door closed as the guards went back to their rounds.

“My name is-” The new guy began.

“Don’t care.” Ecks cut him off, rolling over in his cot to face the wall. 

Even though he knew it wouldn’t happen, he hoped Aph would come back eventually. 

* * *

Xisuma hadn't left his bed in who knows how long. The only time he got up was when Joe threatened to force feed him if he didn’t eat. No one else had stopped by, be it for a simple visit or to report a bug. The latter is much more common this early in the season. Xisuma would question the lack of problems if he had the energy to think at all. It hurt him a little that no one checked in on him. He knew they were probably all just busy with the start of the season. Maybe they all thought leaving him to his own devices was being courteous.

His eyes focused past the room’s ceiling. Foggy memories played back on loop. He could almost still feel the ghost of Keralis’ fingers in his hair. It was simultaneously comforting and heartbreaking. 

_ “I won’t leave you, Shashwammy.” _

Keralis’ hands cupping his face, wiping away tears and pulling him back down into his own body. 

_ “I won’t leave you.” _

_ Bzzt. _

His lungs burned despite having his helmet on. He’d begun to find comfort in the armor. While it used to serve as nothing more than a sour reminder of his life before Generik and the other hermits, now it felt like a hug. An all encompassing embrace. It was his new anchor. He hadn’t removed a single piece of it (aside from when Joe stopped by) since this slump began. 

**_Bzzt._ **

His admin comm buzzed angrily. The notification popped up in the corner of his visor. He gathered the energy to focus his eyes on the message.

It’s xB. 

It’s been two weeks already? How long  _ had  _ he been laying there and wallowing in his own pity?

He sat up on the edge of his bed, joints creaking from disuse. It may have been the last thing he wanted to do but ignoring his admin duties wasn’t an option. 

He sent the coordinates of his starter base (read: claimed a villager’s house as his own) to the younger hermit. He got a message back saying xB was on his way.

Looking around, the place was a mess. Xisuma opted to just shove it all in a chest to worry about later. By the time he was finished xB knocked at the door. 

The admin welcomed the younger hermit inside and told him to take a seat. Xisuma tried to hide his woes but he could tell xB knew something was up. 

“So,” Xisuma began. “How was the visit?”

“I think it went pretty well- oh, thank you.” xB took the glass of water offered to him. He fidgeted with it, brow furrowed.

“You look like you want to ask something.” Xisuma noted. 

xB looked up at the admin, “Yeah, actually.” 

“What is it, then?” Dread settled into his stomach. Does xB want to leave? Did being back in his homeworld after so long away make him change his mind?

“While I was back home, I ran into an old family friend. He left for a server community a while ago and never really visited so I was kind of confused. I asked what he was doing back- he said the world’s admin left so the group decided to disband.” He fiddled with the glass, sliding it back and forth between his hands. “Not everyone had a place to fall back to like he did. Can you see where I’m going with this?” 

“I think so, yeah.” Xisuma  _ really  _ wasn’t feeling up to a recruitment mission. “Do you know how many there are?” 

“Six, I think.”

“Did you get the server information from him?” 

“Yeah-” xB dug through his jacket pocket. “I had him write it down.”

Xisuma unfolded the scrap of paper, scanning through the details. 

_ KingdomCraft. _

“I’ll look into it, xB.” 

xB’s face lit up. All of the tension and uneasiness faded almost instantly. 

“Did you want a tour of what’s already been established?” Xisuma asked. He hoped xB would decline. He barely had the energy to get out of bed let alone walk around the server.

“I think I’ll be okay on my own.” 

What a relief. 

After seeing xB on his way and wishing him well, Xisuma went right back to his bed. He felt bad being so drained from a simple conversation. It felt like he could sleep for a week and still be tired. 

Settling down he locked eyes with the wolf plush where it sat against the wall. The fur was matted- no longer a pristine white, one of its ears is torn and stuffing peaks out from the seam. He choked out a sob at the sight. 

Why had it felt like this would never get any easier?


	18. Chapter Seventeen: X Marks The Spot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize deeply for what you are about to read.   
> TW: Mild body horror, negligence to personal health

His new roommate got the picture pretty fast. He stopped trying to strike up conversation by the second day. Ecks appreciated it- though he’d never say as much. They each kept to their own space and it worked out thus far. 

He sat in the canteen. His usual place hadn’t been claimed by a new group. Everyone probably knew better. 

His fingers tapped on the metal surface in no particular rhythm. Glancing at the clock he sighed. The place was about to close and there was still no sign of Xisuma. He hadn’t expected to see Aph after learning he’d been relocated. What were the odds that the only two people in this hell hole he considered friends would be lost to training at the same time? Knowing his luck? Pretty high.

There’s no use in complaining. Even his stubbornness won’t bring them back sooner. Ecks huffed. Maybe he shouldn't have been such a jerk to his new roommate. He was just a little peeved about losing Aph. 

All he can do now is wait. 

* * *

It took two damn weeks but when Ecks spotted Xisuma at their usual table he was flooded with relief. 

_ “Xisuma-”  _ Ecks began, taking a seat next to the younger Voidwalker. His voice died out when he caught a glimpse of Xisuma’s face. Two scars- spanning from just above his temples to his jawline, crossing on the bridge of his nose. They looked like they’d only recently healed. The deeper sections across his cheeks were still red and angry. 

Ecks’ expression flickered through countless emotions before landing on determination. Sure, he had been angry when Xisuma was taken off to get his pearl. But that happens to everyone. The same with training. Ecks wasn’t happy about it but it’s just a fact of life here.  _ This,  _ however? It was cruel even by this place's impossibly low standards. 

He clenched his jaw, teeth ground together in an attempt to subdue his anger. 

_ ‘That’s it.’  _ Ecks thought. _ ‘All this for theft?’ _

Slowly, Ecks brought a hand up to rest on Xisuma’s cheek. His gloved thumb traced the edge of the inflamed, half healed wound. 

“I’m so sorry.” He whispered. 

“Not your fault.” Xisuma murmured in reply, eyes cast downward to avoid looking in Ecks’. 

_ ‘But it is.’ _ He thought.

“Where’s Aph?” Xisuma kept his voice low. 

“Special containment. Training must’ve made him a bit hostile.” 

“Oh.” 

_ ‘I gotta get him out of here.’ _

* * *

Xisuma had made a full 360 turn from unable to get out of bed to refusing to sleep. He got stuck into working for days at a time without break. It was starting to wear on him but Xisuma didn’t care. It was better than the alternative. 

His vision swam every time he stood upright. The back of his head throbbed in tune with his heartbeat. He felt positively vile but couldn’t bring himself to stop. Not working meant thinking about... him. 

He’d almost entirely stopped taking off his helmet and armor. The only time it came off was for the few short minutes needed to eat. He’d even begun sleeping with his helmet on again (on the rare occasion that he did sleep). The smaller breathing device Tango made was long forgotten in a drawer somewhere along with the wolf plush. 

Stashing the latter away hurt for a while but Xisuma knew it would save him the heartbreak of looking at it every day. Both from the reminder of it’s giver and the poor condition he’d allowed it to get into. 

* * *

Xisuma vaguely registers the sound of his Nether portal but pays no attention to it. Neither to the voice calling out to him. He simply continues with his redstone work- which means staring at the place the torch in his hand was supposed to go. 

“Xisuma.” 

Why won’t this thing work?

_ “Xisuma.”  _ A hand settles on his shoulder. The admin shrinks away and turns to find the source. He has to close his eyes for a moment to get rid of the blurry spots that pop up in his vision. 

“Are you okay?” Finally X recognizes the voice as Joe Hills. 

“Hnng?” It feels like ‘What are you doing here?’ to him but to Joe it’s nothing more than a strangled groan. 

“I’ve been trying to message you all day, Xisuma.”

The admin squints, trying to focus on the other’s face. His vision is slowly but surely fading away. 

“Hmm.” Xisuma hums. It’s his best attempt at an apology. 

“Xisuma?” Joe does his best to keep his words calm and steady but that’s growing more and more difficult as the admin visibly fades out in front of him. He sways in place as his eyes slowly drift shut. 

Joe is barely able to catch Xisuma as he collapses forward. Gently lowering the admin to lay on the stone floor, Joe tries not to panic. 

The sound of air filtering through his helmet is still reaching Joe’s ears, that’s reassuring. There isn’t much Joe can do now but wait. 

* * *

Xisuma groans as he wakes up. His head is killing him. The pressure behind his eyes makes him nauseous. 

“Howdy, sleepy head. Glad to see you’ve rejoined the living.” Joe says from nearby. 

“What?” An actual word- that’s a good start.

“You weren’t answering my messages so I decided to stop by,” Joe hands him a healing potion and sits a bottle of water next to him. “You sounded pretty incoherent to me. Blacked out after a few minutes. Seems like I got here at the perfect time.”

Damn, has he been neglecting his own health that badly? He felt like shit for sure, but he didn’t feel  _ incoherent.  _

“How long was I out?” 

“About ten minutes. Now drink the potion before I make you.” 

The admin makes a face that Joe can’t see. He doesn’t want to take his helmet off. Just looking at the neon pink liquid he can almost feel the thick, fizzy potion sliding down his throat. He shudders at the thought. 

“Can you turn around?” He asks. 

Joe looks ready to question him but turns away without a word. Xisuma tugs his helmet off and downs the potion without taking a breath between gulps before quickly securing it back over his head. A soft numbness comes down over him. It only lasts a moment before being replaced by a pleasant tingling in his extremities. His headache dulls but doesn’t go away completely. It’s manageable for the time being. 

“Thanks.” He murmurs. 

“Not a problem.” Joe responds, pushing the water bottle closer to him. “I’m going to assume you haven’t been sleeping. Is that right, XisumaVoid?” 

X holds back a flinch at the use of his full name. 

“Yeah, it is.” He replies. 

Joe sighs. 

“I know you’re hurting, but you need to take care of yourself. Not just for your own sake.” 

“Don’t even try to guilt me by saying he wouldn’t want me doing this to myself.” Xisuma retorts, voice gone hoarse. 

“I’m not trying to guilt you, Xisuma. I  _ care  _ about you. We all do.”

“That’s what all of them said but they’re not here.” 

“Who?”

“None of your business.” 

Joe runs a hand through his hair. 

“Just- get some sleep. Okay? I’m going to come back this time next week to check in on you.” 

Xisuma doesn’t reply, only curls in on himself. 

Joe heads off to the portal without another word. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter is a big one!!


	19. Chapter Eighteen: Kingdoms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all I am so sorry. My college move in date was moved up a month and I have been SCRAMBLING to get ready. In return I am here with a chapter that is just over 1,800 words long.   
> TW: None that I can spot. Maybe a little neglect of self-care.

As always, Joe kept to his promise. 

One week later Joe made his way to their admin’s base. He made sure to show up early and unannounced. If X knew he was coming the admin could simply not respond and hop into bed, making it seem like he’d been asleep all along. Joe wanted to catch him off guard.

Stepping out of the portal Joe noticed a lot of progress had been made since last time. That didn’t give him much hope that Xisuma was getting any kind of regular sleep. With his hope for finding X well rested already low, Joe set off to scour the base for the admin who was hopefully in bed. 

It took a few tries but eventually the poet opened the right door. Just like always, the admin’s bedroom was bare. Nothing much in the ways of decoration apart from a couple of haphazardly placed chests, a messy desk, and the bed where Xisuma was sound asleep. 

A soft smile crept onto his lips at the sight of the slow rise and fall of the Voidwalker’s chest. It was good to see their admin taking a break and giving himself time to rest. The grin on his face only faulted when he noticed the admin still had his helmet on. 

Why had he started doing that again? Did the device Tango built him break? The memory of Xisuma asking Joe to turn away as he drank the potion prodded at the back of his mind. The admin had always been hesitant to remove his helmet but he still did it on occasion. Especially around-.

Oh. 

Joe got his answer. 

* * *

Xisuma would be lying if he said getting regular sleep wasn’t helping him. He’d convinced himself that taking a moment to breathe would only make things worse and couldn’t shake the belief. Even after last week's incident Xisuma was still convinced not sleeping was better for him than taking a moment to rest and risking his thoughts taking over. 

He did put it off- waited until it got dangerously close to time for Joe to show his face again. Xisuma would’ve hated to be caught in the same state as last time- as much as he was hesitant to do anything about it. Joe’s a kind soul but catching his bad side isn’t something anyone wants to do. 

Xisuma didn’t end up seeing Joe, only the note the poet left behind. He must have been sleeping when the other hermit stopped by. That may have been for the better- considering the note was there when he awoke at sunrise Joe must have stopped by quite early. If he had been up there’s no doubt Joe would have had a few words to say.

Another week passed. Xisuma hadn’t been expecting another random visit. Which made getting one a little more stressful. He hadn’t been keeping up with sleeping as well as in the days leading up to Joe’s expected arrival. He was still  _ sleeping  _ just not as often for as long. The look in Joe’s eyes told Xisuma the shorter male knew everything. 

“I think you need to get out for a while.” The poet started. 

“What do you mean by that?” 

“Do anything but  _ this. _ ” He said, gesturing to the mess of redstone and chests. 

Xisuma’s gaze followed his gesture, taking a moment to finally realize just how bad he’d let his base get. He’d been so wrapped up in working he hadn’t bothered to notice. 

“What else is there to do? Start another project?” 

Joe huffed. 

“Go on a rescue mission- whatever you like to call them. Some fresh faces and a little time to breathe will do you good, Xisuma.” 

Xisuma made a face- nose scrunched and eyebrows drawn together. The admin knew Joe was probably right, he usually was. 

“Fine.” Joe’s own eyebrows shot up. “I trust you’ll make sure the place doesn’t fall apart?” 

“Sure thing, Xisuma.” Joe chuckled. 

* * *

He’d been so caught up in putting his base together that he hadn’t done any scouting work. He has no one lined up to visit. He’s hardly in the mood to do the recruitment let alone find someone to recruit. 

Sitting at his desk, Xisuma lets out a frustrated groan. 

What about that guy Etho had mentioned? His old mentor? No- he’d take way too long to track down. Xisuma doesn’t think his lack of forethought is enough reason to bother the ninja. 

Hold on. What about that server xB mentioned before? He has the information written down somewhere- ha! 

KingdomCraft. 

It’s been a while since Xisuma spoke with xB, what if everyone there had already left and found somewhere else to go? At least he can tell both xB and Joe that he tried. 

Picking up his admin comm, X shoots Joe a message simply saying  _ ‘Heading out’ _ . 

* * *

It’s night on the KingdomCraft server when Xisuma spawns in. There’s no evidence anyone has been in the area recently. All of the torches are out and the pathways have grown over. Pulling up his admin panels the player list shows a total of five players left. They’re all located in a similar area. They must have grouped up after everyone else left. At least he won’t have to track them down individually. 

He tries a teleport command. It doesn’t work. Despite the lack of the original admin the rules they set are still active. 

Comparing his coordinates to the remaining players Xisuma can’t help but sigh. That’s a long walk. Almost a day’s worth. It wouldn’t be a great idea to start on his way in the middle of the night but it would also be a big waste of time. If he waits till just before sunrise to head on his way, just to be safe, he’d be lucky to get there by sundown. 

Might as well get some equipment together in the meantime.

* * *

He ended up waiting till just before sunrise the next morning. It gave him enough time to gather a bit of food and a weapon- just in case.

Night would be falling soon. Getting stuck out in the open in the dark with what little he has wouldn’t be good. He would hate to die and have to start back from spawn.

However, the coordinates of the group had shifted ever so slightly in his favor. He took that as a sign to keep going.

Finally, he spots the edge of the forest the group is settled in. Smoke floats up above the treeline, barely illuminated by the fire it came from. 

“Hello?” He calls out. 

There’s no immediate response. They could all be heading to sleep.

_ “Hello?”  _

A bush rustles nearby. A rabbit darts across his path. It settles his nerves for an instant. That must have been the cause for the noise. 

“Who are you?” 

Or not.

Swiveling on his heels to meet the source of the voice, Xisuma is met with the point of a diamond sword mere inches from his helmet. What is it with people and pointing swords at him?

“I’m Xisuma. I’m the admin of the HermitCraft server. I heard a few…  _ unfortunate _ events happened around here and some people might need somewhere to go.” 

The sword drops instantly. 

“Oh!” The man lets out a bouncy laugh. “I’m sorry about that, man. No one good has come by in a while.” 

“Do you mind showing me to where you’re all staying?” 

“Of course. I’m Iskall, by the way.” 

The name feels familiar. 

“Good to meet you.” 

* * *

Iskall leads Xisuma to a rickety little outpost. A cobblestone wall borders the camp. There’s a fire set up in the middle of a clearing. A few beds surround the flame. Everyone is sitting around the fire, they perk up when Iskall announces their arrival.

“We’ve got a visitor!” 

Xisuma stands next to him, simply watching the group in front of him. He swears xB told him there was supposed to be six people here, Xisuma can only see five. 

It’s a diverse group. Standing out the most is someone in full knight armor and a man who, if the dog ears and tail are anything to go by, is a werewolf. 

“Is this everyone?” Xisuma asks, turning to Iskall.

“I think so, yeah. Why?” 

“I was told there would be six of you here.” 

Iskall’s grin droops for a moment before being replaced by a slightly more apologetic smile. 

“Stress- she left for her homeworld about a week ago. She didn’t want to go back but once it got to looking like no one was coming for us…” His words trail off.

A pang of guilt runs through Xisuma’s veins. He could have been here a long time ago if he hadn’t fallen into that slump. Her having to return to a place she didn’t want to is all his fault. 

“Never mind that.” He begins again. “Why don’t you join us around the fire, introduce yourself.”

“Yes, of course.” Xisuma motions for him to lead the way. 

Xisuma sits on a bare patch of grass next to the masked man. 

“I guess I’ll start.” Iskall begins after a moment too long of silence. “Like I said earlier- my name is Iskall.” He motions to the person on his left.

“I’m Welsknight but you can just call me Wels.” Says the man in the knights armor. It’s a fitting name to be fair. 

“I’m Cub.” The person next around the circle announced. 

“Oh uh, I’m Scar.” 

Finally the man to Xisuma’s right is up.

“Ren-diggity-dog here but you can call me Ren. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. ” The man- Ren flashes him a smile and winks.

“I guess that leave me.” Xisuma chuckles nervously. “My name is Xisuma. I’m the admin from the HermitCraft server. Light of your situation was brought to me by a fellow hermit. I came here to ask if you would all be interested in joining us.” 

The circle remains silent. Xisuma begins to worry they’ll deny his offer. The group exchanges a few glances before their faces break out into grins. 

“Can’t say no to that offer.” Wels breaks the silence.

“Yeah, man.” Ren agrees.

“I just wish Stress was still here.” Iskall adds solemnly. The comment seems to stop the rest of the group from continuing the conversation. 

* * *

The moon is beginning to peak above the horizon before anyone dares speak up again. It’s Cub suggesting they all head to sleep. No one disagrees. Iskall tells Xisuma he’s welcome to use the bed set up only a few feet away from his own. X feels it’s safe to assume that bed used to belong to Stress. He doesn’t ask about it. 

Looking up at the sky as the stars reveal themselves from within the darkness Xisuma can only wonder what’s going on back home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know if you spot any mistakes. It's 11:30 as I'm finishing and posting this so I'm not the most awake. (Not to mention I haven't written in a little while.) Comments are appreciated!


	20. Chapter Nineteen: Mornings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *throws this at you and runs*

The sun was well above the horizon by the time Xisuma woke up. The long walk from spawn to the small outpost the previous night took a lot out of the admin. It was rare for him to get a full night's rest let alone be up after the sun these days. 

He sighed sitting up in the bed, relishing in the cool, crisp air coming through the filter in his helmet. It was a welcomed contrast to the humid air around him that was seeping through his armor. 

After taking a moment to blink the remnants of sleep from his eyes, the quiet rustle of the soon-to-be Hermits stalking around camp and the smell of breakfast cooking brought a soft grin to his face. He glanced over to the fire, spotting a couple familiar faces sitting near it. 

Cub tended to the flames, keeping track of the progress made on the eggs. Wels sat next to him, humming a soft tune. Iskall was nearby, shining his sword with a square of wool. Ren and Scar were still sleeping soundly in their own beds. 

Xisuma turned to sit on the edge of the bed. His shifting drew the attention of those sitting around the fire. 

“Good morning.” He offered, yawning. 

Cub gave a curt nod in response while the other two murmured their own greeting. 

“Hungry?” Cub asked after a beat of silence.

Truth be told, Xisuma was quite hungry. He could feel the ache starting to form deep down in his stomach. Despite this-

“No, thank you.” 

“More for me, then.” The scientist replied. 

* * *

The conversation died off after that. Ren and Scar woke up just as the food was ready, no doubt the scent brought them back from their slumber. Both offered the admin a nod in greeting, sleep still fogging up their minds. Scar sat down with an ‘oof’ next to Cub on a log turned stool. Ren sat on the dewy grass next to Wels, staring blankly into the dancing flames. They all ate in a similar silence, only exchanging a few sounds of thanks. Xisuma sat by himself, not joining the group around the fire. He couldn’t help but feel the change in atmosphere from the night prior. He told himself it was nothing more than morning cobwebs. 

The sun was nearing high noon before Cub cleared his throat. The members of the circle snapped their attention to the older man. 

“Is everyone feeling up to making the big move?” Xisuma took this as his queue. He stood from the bed, slipping his comm back into his inventory, striding over to stand just outside the gathering. 

“Guess so.” Wels said, punctuated by a yawn.

Ren jumped to his feet, “Yeah! Let’s get this party started, my dudes!” He exclaims, obviously trying to lighten the mood. 

“I guess that’s where I come in.” The group turned to look at X where he stood. There’s another beat of silence while they wait for him to continue. “I don’t have full admin control in this world. There isn’t much I can go outside of the spawn chunks. I need to be able to whitelist everyone and set up your player profiles.”

“All I understood out of that is ‘we need to go to spawn.” Scar mumbles. 

“That’s- that is basically it.” Xisuma chuckles. 

“Guess we should get going then.” Iskall joins in. “Wouldn’t want to let night catch up with us outside of camp.” 

“Hold on!” Scar interjects, jumping up from his seat. Taking a few hurried steps to his bed he stoops over. He stands back up with a drowsy cat bundled in his arms. 

The group shares a soft chuckle.

Xisuma knows he made the right decision. 

* * *

“Aaand- Done!” The admin punctuates his words by dismissing the admin console. “You should all be set on the whitelist. The invite should go through any second now.” 

Almost on queue, a collection of various beeps and buzzed plays through the group. 

“I’ll stay behind a moment to make sure everyone gets through alright.” Xisuma says.

The new hermits exchange looks, waiting for someone to make the first move. 

_ Rendog has left the game. _

A ping,

_ Cubfan135 has left the game. _

_ GoodTimeWithScar has left the game. _

_ Welsknight has left the game. _

Xisuma looks up at Iskall expectantly. He simply stands staring at his comm.

“Is something wrong? Did you not-”

“Can I ask you a favor?” Iskall cuts the admin off.

“Of course.” Xisuma replies.

“There was someone else here with us. She just left a couple days ago-” His eye squints, brows drawing together. “Stressmonster. Her family found out about the server and made her go back home.”

Xisuma offers a soft smile, though it’s hidden from view. “I’ll certainly see what I can do.”

Iskall’s face lights up. 

_ Iskall85 has left the game.  _


	21. Chapter Twenty: Butchers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> get that bread bois  
> tw: small mention of blood but that's all!

Xisuma would be lying if he said getting away from the server for a little while wasn’t a nice change. After getting over the anxiety of leaving the server (in very capable hands, he would like to add) he found himself enjoying the trip. Even just a few days of new scenery and not being stuck in his base made a big improvement. A couple new faces were also certainly a morale booster, no matter how grim the circumstances may have been. The voidwalker had almost forgotten the excitement of bringing home new Hermits, watching them mingle with already established members, sometimes reuniting with old friends. In X’s eyes, it made all the sleepless nights of admin duties worth it. 

Before he knew it, he was sitting in his base, the room illuminated by nothing but the countless tabs of admin panels all around him. 

It was quite late, or early if you want to be technical about it, before he snapped from his searching stupor. He’d managed to gather quite extensive files on a couple persons of interest. Stressmonster; the woman Iskall had mentioned during his trip to KingdomCraft, and VintageBeef; Etho’s old mentor. Both seemed equally difficult to contact. If his ‘visit’ to Stress ended up anything like the one with False it would require much more than a couple days planning. As much as he wanted to make haste with his promise to Iskall, Beef was looking like his best bet for the moment. 

Despite his eagerness, he wanted to give the KingdomCrafters a while to settle in before bringing in any more people. A few weeks at the least. It would give him more time to plan, maybe even make some preliminary contact. Showing up out of nowhere, especially if this guy is meant to be Etho’s old mentor, wasn’t the best plan. 

* * *

When Joe entered the room, Xisuma was sitting at his admin desk. He hit the admin comm against the palm of his hand a few times, making the holographic screens around him stutter and flick in and out. He grumbled under his breath at the device. 

“Is everything going okay there, ‘Suma?” 

The admin startles, nearly dropping the troublesome communicator in the process.

“Yeah yeah, this thing has been glitching and I can’t figure out why. Keeps doing stuff on it’s own. Had an empty player profile pop up yesterday but it vanished before I could look into it.”

The poet raised an eyebrow. “Think it’s something to worry about?” 

Xisuma shook his head. “I’m betting on it just having a hard time dealing with all the new players in the system. Never added this many at one time before.” He turns the admin communicator over in his hands, thumb brushing over the name engraved on the back for a mere moment. “Not to mention this thing is kind of ancient.” 

Joe grinned at the response. He seemed to be content with the answer received. 

“Now onto why I came here in the first place, Mr. Admin.” 

“Joe-”

“You do realize you haven’t left your base in almost 3 days, right? I was getting worried you’d started doing redstone in your sleep again.” 

The admin chuckles.

“No, just got sucked into looking into some new players. Got my eyes on a couple.” 

“Glad to see you out of that slump, big guy.” Joe says, giving the admin an affectionate pat on the shoulder. 

Xisuma rolls his eyes, hidden as they are. 

* * *

One month and three profiles later, Xisuma was feeling pretty good about how things were going. The newest members were integrating perfectly. Much to his surprise, Mumbo and Iskall were old friends. It was a tearful reunion but quickly devolved into chaos and snickering. Xisuma can already smell the chaos the two will get up to in the future. Many more sleepless nights to come fixing whatever those hooligans get up to. 

He’d already met with Joe about heading out for a few days. The poet was, as always, more than happy to monitor the server while the admin was away. Not that he had much to worry about with his Hermits, though. 

He’d sent a message to Beef the day prior, hoping that would give it enough time to reach the man. Or better yet, to get one back with an answer. That would make things a lot easier, and less stressful. No matter how much planning and research Xisuma did he’s always just a bit anxious going into a new recruitment. 

“‘Suma, you’re fine.” The reassuring voice of Joe brought the voidwalker out from his thoughts. 

“I know, just post warp jitters.” 

Joe didn’t seem too convinced. 

“See you in a couple days?” 

“Yeah.” The admin sighs.

_Xisuma has left the game._

* * *

Nothing could have prepared X for the world he was about to spawn into. It wasn’t necessarily… startling? Abnormal? It was just reminiscent. Dark buildings cramped together along dingy streets. Neon purple lights and little to no sign that this place was still inhabited. 

His footsteps echoed against the asphalt. It was the only other sound apart from the rumbling generators and persistent buzz of the signs. He hated it. 

Doing his best to push the feeling aside, it wasn’t long before he found himself outside the building he was looking for. It wasn’t nearly as intimidating as he was expecting. A quaint little sign above the door, another in the window stating it was open. He pushed the door open, a bell sounded above him. He’d lie if you asked if it startled him. 

Not a moment after the door shut behind him, a head poked up from behind the front counter. The man wasn’t nearly as intimidating as what Xisuma expected from his reading. The other man’s grin was jubilant. If it wasn’t for the blood on his apron and hands Xisuma might have just felt a bit of comfort. 

“Hey!” 

The warmth in the man’s eyes flickered to confusion for a brief instant before regaining their calming aura. 

“Which division?” He asks, nodding downwards.

Xisuma brings a hand up to his chest, picking at the engraved nameplate. 

“Infantry,” he replies simply, “Third battalion, I think. Wasn’t there very long”

There’s a silence between them, 

“I assume you’re the guy who sent the message?”

“Sorry, yeah, I am.” Xisuma takes a step forward, offering a hand. “Xisuma, acting HermitCraft admin.” 

“Good to meet you.” He takes the hand offered. “You can call me Beef. If we're going formal, a retired combat trainer turned butcher.” 

“The blood makes more sense now.”

The shorter man lets out a bellowing laugh. 

“So, Xisuma, acting HermitCraft admin, how did you hear about little old me?”

“I brought one of your old apprentices on board a few years ago.”

“Etho?” 

“Yeah, actually.”

“How’s he doing? Haven’t seen him in ages.” Beef asks.

“Pretty well from what I can tell. A bit of a loner but then again we are called the Hermits.” 

“That sounds like him. How fast did he get you to the ground when you first met?” 

“I was barely in the door.” 

“That _definitely_ sounds like Etho.” 

Another short silence.

“So, are you interested in joining us?” 

Beef looks around, there’s something in his eyes that Xisuma can’t quite place. 

“As much as I’ve enjoyed this gig, it might just be time to get a start on something different. Void knows I’m going crazy in this old city.”

“Would you just like to exchange information and you can join in your own time or do you want to come with me?” 

“I haven’t had time to pack up shop so I think I’ll just get the details for now, if it isn’t too much of a bother.”

“No problem at all, always happy to have a new face around. We’ve got quite the family growing.” 

Beef smiles again, softer this time. The same look from before is back in his eyes.

“That must be nice.” 

It really is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls tell me if there are mistakes if this being posted at 3:30 am is telling of anything i wrote while sleepy

**Author's Note:**

> visit me on tumblr: @illusory0


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